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!