The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in the Western Cape supports the genuine struggle by the University of Cape Town [UCT] students led by the Student Representative Council [SRC].

The action by the students is as a result of the refusal by UCT management to register returning students with debts leading to many being stranded, as they cannot even be allocated Residences despite the much reported commitment by the University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mosa Moshabela to allocate R1 billion this year in order to assist students who are struggling to pay their fees.

We call on the UCT Vice-Chancellor to be transparent to students, and the University of Cape Town community how this R1 billion was utilized noting the students claim that the promise never came to fruition, but also develop mechanism to manage the sky-rocketing fees of this institution which are leading to commodification of education mainly affecting the previously marginalized groups as their parents are unable to pay for these high fees.

Equally, we have directed our structure in the institution to provide support to this struggle with the hope that the UCT management will engage with the Students leadership in order to find solution to this impasse, which we want to assure that if no genuine engagements are held then we will have no choice but to call for the maximum unity of workers and students as we believe that the time has arrived for the working class unity to push the doors of learning wide open, but also to push back against the back door experimental re-introduction of the outsourcing of services despite the progressive decision to insource these following the action of 2016.

END

Issued by NEHAWU Western Cape Secretariat

For more information, please contact: Cde Baxolise Mali (NEHAWU Western Cape Provincial Secretary) at 066 3050 591 or Baxolise@nehawu.org.za Or Cde Lucky Bopape (Western Cape Provincial Deputy Secretary) at 083 719 0692 or email: LBopape@gmail.com