Mbeki calls on students and society to turn away from destructive protest

Students and society must turn their backs on protests that result in damage to property‚ says former president Thabo Mbeki, newly inaugurated chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa).

In his inaugural address as chancellor, Mbeki outlined his approach on the university’s vision to become the "African university shaping futures in the service of humanity".

Protests by students demanding free education last year caused damage on campuses around the country.

Mbeki expressed appreciation and understanding for the "Rhodes Must Fall" and "Fees Must Fall" campaigns, but said he did not approve of unnecessary and counterproductive violence and destruction of university property.

"Needless to say‚ the student movement and our society as a whole must decisively turn their backs on the forms of protests rooted in the logic of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face."

Mbeki said this was illustrated by people burning down clinics to demand better healthcare, destroying lecture rooms because they wanted free education and wrecking schools because they did not like a proposed municipal boundary.

Mbeki said the answer to the question on whether the country was spending enough on higher education should be deferred until the commission of inquiry‚ headed by Judge Jonathan Heher‚ reported on the feasibility of fee-free higher education and training in South Africa.

"I trust that the report of the commission will also alert us to the imperative to engage the whole nation in a serious discussion about the larger challenge of how we should structure our public expenditure over the medium term at least."

Mbeki said this arose from the hard reality that the country still faced challenges in redressing injustices of the past.

"The state has finite resources. What is spent to address one social economic challenge constitutes a resource which is unavailable to address another challenge‚" Mbeki said.

TMG Digital