Higher Education - Mediocrity Is Thy Name

The student fee protests will have historic significance in the months and years to come - a step in the right direction, but riddled with uncertainty. The fee moratorium is a short term pyrrhic victory and pales against overwhelming odds confronting students. These include, but are not limited to, oppressive tuition debt service, inadequate student housing, subsistence support, transformational obstacles, inferior basic education inadequately bridging the gap to tertiary level, and the prospect of unaffordable future tuition costs beyond 2016, assuming free education is a pipe dream . Then, after years of sacrifice in attaining a coveted degree for the promise of a better life, reality sets in - the terrifying spectre of unemployment. Government finds itself between a rock and a hard place. It simply does not have contingency reserves to fund the deficit created by eliminating the one time fee increase. In addition, universities are unable to absorb the loss in revenue. Government must recognise the plain and simple truth that universities must be adequately funded. There are non-essential items in the recently announced budget that can be allocated to higher education. The future of the country's university system depends on it. The solution is not, as some in government propose, the ending of university autonomy. Do we need one more national tragedy of the likes of Eskom, SAA, SABC and the Post Office? Perish the thought!

Investec's Chickens Coming Home to Roost

Provided Randgold's minority shareholders have the financial wherewithal to continue prosecuting its lawsuit against Investec, the facts appear favourable for a successful outcome for the minority shareholders.  

Investec, in defending the action, has employed a strategy long used by companies with deep pockets:  drown an opponent in paper and ever increasing legal costs.  In doing so, the action either gathers dust, or brings an opponent to the settlement table.  This does not appear to be the case with Randgold's minority shareholders - it is a do or die scenario for them.

Judge Rabie's judgment allowing 96% of the claims to proceed to trial is potentially devastating for Investec.  The prospect of having to pay R1.3bn plus costs is one thing, but the impact on Investec's reputation in the marketplace is another.  Settlement anyone?

MPs - Icons of Hypocrisy

The annual parliamentary register of member interests was recently published.  One conclusion is evident from the list: MPs  are quintessential hypocrites. They rant, shout, scream and accuse one another of wrongdoing when it suits them.

However, when it comes to disclosure of their wealth, business interests and gifts received, they band together and hide their assets in trusts formed for this very purpose. 

Transparency has no meaning when it involves the personal gain of MPs.  We, the people, are to blame by allowing the subterfuge to continue.  

Good Writing Skills - A Relic?

Reading the letter (27/10/15) of Messrs. Makhombothi and Buku to the Cape Times on behalf of the SA Student Congress was a lesson in grammatical ubiquity. It was a perfect illustration of poor syntax, awkward grammatical construction and sentence structure.  

I presume these young men are ambitious, and will seek out powerful leadership roles in the future.  Good writing skills are an important part of communication in contrast to poor writing skills which create poor first impressions and negativity,  as in Makhombothi and Buku's letter. 

One can safely assume that it has been a long time since Makhombothi and Buku were taught any writing skills.  A refresher course is needed.  The good news is that writing is a skill which can be learned like any other. 

Being a political activist (in past years), the future of our country's youth is of paramount concern to 
me.  To this end, I offer to tutor these young people, and others,  if interested. 

Gary Player - a Man with Warts

Gary Player was featured (November issue) in the Sunday Times sports section.   He was described as   "forever young" in his life's journey. The article was praiseworthy of Player, but failed to address his dark side - his affaire de coeur with the apartheid regime.   

In his book Grand Slam Golf, Player wrote:  "I am of the South Africa of Verwoerd and apartheid . . . to maintain civilised values and standards amongst the alien barbarians . . . The African . . ." In addition, it was no secret that Player was used as a de facto ambassador for the apartheid government, and lent his support to the government's Committee in Fairness for Sport to overcome South Africa's global boycott.  Player was subsequently added to the UN's blacklist for breaking the sports boycott.  

Even though Player is presumably no longer a racist bigot, his racism, in past years, must not be ignored, and must be added to the mix in immortalising him "South Africa's Sportsman of the 20th Century."

Time for Change

"A dollar late and a day short" best describes the ANC government's belated reactive capitulation to student demand for a 0% hike in 2016 tuition fees.  If government believes it has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat it is badly mistaken.  Student  unrest is symptomatic of a myriad of socio-economic problems crippling the country.  Young people, the future leaders of the country, have at long last realized that the interests of the ANC government do not align with their basic expectations of opportunity, and birthright to quality education.  The fires of profound discontent have been ignited, and the government does not have the means or know-how to extinguish them. 

For students, the moratorium is a short term pyrrhic victory which pales against overwhelming odds confronting them.  These include, but are not limited to, oppressive tuition debt service, inadequate student housing, subsistence support, transformational obstacles, inferior basic education inadequately bridging the gap to tertiary level, and the prospect of unaffordable future tuition costs beyond 2016, assuming free education is a pipe dream . Then, after years of sacrifice in attaining a coveted degree for the promise of a better life, reality sets in - the terrifying spectre of unemployment. 

The protests are the embodiment of student frustration and anger for government's irreparable damage to tertiary education due to gross neglect and profligacy.  The die has been cast:  no longer will students be marginalised and forgotten, even if it means taking to the streets again. 

Blade Nzimande - A Man Out Of His Depth

There are calls for Blade Nzimande's resignation as minister of higher education. I don't have a dog in this fight,  nor do I have any 'delusions of grandeur' for the cabinet post, should Nzimande be given his marching orders. That being so, I offer my unbiased truncated take on Nzimande's continuing fitness for office. 

In any objective assessment of an individual's fitness for a particular office, a review of that person's background is necessary. 

The minister earned a PhD in philosophy from the University of Natal, with emphasis in sociology.  Prima facie the minister was no academic slouch, armed with credentials for a successful future. 

Besides a stint as a lecturer, the minister became increasingly involved in the trade union movement, and a dedicated member of the Communist Party, serving as its general secretary. 

Blade Nzimanda's role as minister of higher education, is, however, a whole new kettle of fish: he is in the eye of the country's first season's tertiary education hurricane.  He is battered and bruised, and out of his depth. He blames university vice chancellors for the fee crisis, and accepts no responsibility, in step with an endless line of spineless politicians. 

The chaos that we witnessed did not spontaneously happen - Nzimande was aware of heightening student discontent, and chose to ignore it.  Moreover, he was duty bound to implement  recommendations of a 2012 higher education report, and failed to do so.  In addition, his handling of the protests was amateurish, insensitive to student needs, underscored by a paralysing detachment to the enormity of the crisis. 

No matter how one views Nzimande's  performance, his fate will likely be sealed as the fall guy.  On balance, this is not a train wreck, because as it turns out, he is not the sharpest blade in the drawer.