Press statement on the escalation of fees and the exploitation of workers in Wits
21 October 2015
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] in the University of Witwatersrand supports the #FeesMustFall campaign by students against fee increase that is currently taking place at Wits and other universities across the country.
As the YCLSA in the campus we call upon both students and workers as led by Nehawu to vehemently fight the capital mind set of exclusionary soft-violence that appears to be financial but fundamentally violate the right to access the universities and undermine efforts to the strategic object of free education and class antagonism. The protest is about fee increment, it embodies tacitly or overtly the broader struggle of the working class.
The YCLSA encourages both students and workers to unite against the bullying tendencies by university management. Students are also stakeholders and their voice must be central in any decision that affects the operation of the universities.
In light of NSFAS problems and registration at the beginning of the current year the Wits management has succeeded to create an impasse by resorting to increasing fees exorbitantly. After the efforts by students to raise funds the management is still pre-occupied with inconsiderate actions of commodifying education making it difficult for students from working class background to have access to education.