While politically motivated risk has always been a risk that South Africa has traditionally dealt with in some way, shape or form throughout our turbulent history, this risk has been particularly highlighted over the past two years and threatens to boil over in the future. While this is a risk that is very hard to avoid in the South African context, it is a risk that needs to be paid attention to as it needs to be managed in such a way that the effects on the public will not be as pronounced as it has been since the #FeesMustFall campaign.
At the heart of the issue
Like with the student uprisings in 1976, the #FeesMustFall campaign has forced us to relook at education in the country and to ask serious questions regarding the current model that we are dealing with.
Speaking at the Institute of Risk Managers South Africa Risk Lab in July, Professor Tawana Kupe (Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand) pointed out that education plays an important role in the economy, yet we are dealing with an archaic system.
“Unlike the US, there are not many options outside of a university education for students who leave secondary school. Many students are coming from impoverished communities and see the struggle that their parents live with every day; they have resolved that they will not suffer a similar fate and feel duty bound to improve their lives so that they can make their parents proud and to possibly support them when they get a job,” said Professor Kupe.
Hard lessons
Added to this are the challenges inherent within the South African education system. The first problem is the fact that universities have to deal with an archaic funding model which was developed during apartheid. Because a wider range of people today want access to education, a funding system that was developed in 1970 is wholly inappropriate.
The second problem is the fact that government is not playing ball and has reduced its funding to the universities. This is a fact that has been recognised by the students and was a major gripe during the #FeesMustFall campaign where a number of students demanded the attention and focus of Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande.
“The third and probably biggest challenge is that the university system in South Africa faces inflationary pressures on two fronts. We are all aware of the fact that inflation in South Africa are at historically high levels, but there is also the fact that some of the skills needed to teach certain courses need to be sourced internationally. Because of these reasons, we are seeing university fees being increased at levels that are higher than inflation,” said Professor Kupe.
Fertile breeding ground
While the #FeesMustFall campaign started off peacefully, it quickly became violent when frustration boiled over. Students felt that their voices were being ignored by the powers that be, and they would not stand for it. Sasria has done a remarkable job of covering these risks and has faced a challenging two years as other protests, not related to education, has demanded the state owned insurer’s attention.
Where do we go from here? As we approach the second half of the year, time is running out on President Jacob Zuma’s promise of no fee increases for 2016. Are we going to see similar risks coming to the fore as we head towards 2017?
The likelihood is that we will. Professor Kupe pointed out that the driving factor behind the risks within the education system include a lack of human capital development, a lack of social mobility, a deepening and widening gap in inequality which all provides a fertile breeding ground for social unrest and violence.
Under pressure
If we are to believe the accusations of Professor Kupe that government is deliberately cutting back on education spending, we need to come to terms with the fact that the challenges pointed out above will not easily be overcome.
We can understand the issues that the students have and we can even empathise with them, provided that their protests don’t turn violent. On the one hand you have a section of the population who are desperate to improve their lives and those of their families. While we are privileged enough to save for our children’s education, and possibly our own education, we must realise that there is a sector of the population that cannot afford to do this.
On the other hand, Universities are facing massive inflationary pressures, and if government is not helping out financially, then funding needs to be sourced elsewhere. Again, if we are to believe the assertion of Professor Kupe that Universities are struggling with funding, they are not increasing fees to make the rich richer.
So a repeat of the student protests that we saw last year is inevitable; we just live in hope that we will not see a similar level of violence.
Editor’s Thoughts:
We are faced with a question that is not only limited to the education system. Sasria is facing increasing pressure and will eventually reach breaking point if the protests don’t abate. So the questions is, can covering this type of risk only be the responsibility of Sasria in the future? Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts jonathan@fanews.co.za.
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Added by Cynical Simon, 01 Aug 2016