Admin
09 Oct, 2025
Fort Hare must rise again through dialogue and reform
Statement by Lucia Matomane, UDESMO Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson The United Democratic Students’ Movement (UDESMO) is deeply disturbed by the violent turn of events at the University of Fort Hare. As an organisation that stands for the right of students to learn, organise, and express themselves without fear, we are both pained by the destruction of this historic institution and compelled to speak to the deeper causes that led to this crisis. What is unfolding at Fort Hare is not simply an outbreak of lawlessness. It is the eruption of years of frustration among students who have been ignored, sidelined, and denied a voice in decisions that directly affect their lives and education. Students have long raised concerns about governance failures, delayed or inconsistent SRC elections, financial exclusions, and an institutional culture that too often treats them as subjects rather than partners in higher education. These grievances have been met not with dialogue and reform, but with silence, interdicts, and sometimes violence. UDESMO does not condone the destruction of property or the endangerment of lives. Acts of arson and violence do not advance our struggle for a just and accountable university system. They set it back. Yet condemning violence must not become a way to avoid addressing the legitimate demands of the student body. The University’s leadership, the Department of Higher Education, and the broader Government of National Unity must confront the structural crises that continue to ignite campuses across the country: underfunding, authoritarian management styles, and the exclusion of poor and working-class youth. Fort Hare, once a beacon of African intellectual liberation, cannot become a symbol of despair. UDESMO calls for: 1. An independent mediation process to rebuild trust between the university administration, students, and workers. 2. Immediate support for affected students, including trauma counselling and academic recovery plans. 3. A national dialogue on student governance to ensure democratic representation at all institutions of higher learning. 4. Firm action against those who exploit unrest to pursue political or criminal ends. 5. A review of campus security practices to end the cycle of violence between students and private security personnel. The flames at Fort Hare should awaken the conscience of our nation. Students are not enemies of progress. We are its engine. The time has come for government, university leadership, and society at large to listen before the next campus burns.
Admin
17 Sep, 2025
No Space, No Future? UDESMO says Enough!
Statement by Lucia Matomane, UDESMO Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson The United Democratic Students’ Movement (UDESMO) in the Eastern Cape has long been outraged by the persistent crisis in higher education. For years, students have been forced to carry the burden of the government’s failure to plan, NSFAS’s chaos, and issues like universities that reward executives while neglecting learners. Each academic year brings the same broken promises, the same delays, and the same exclusion of thousands of young people who only seek the chance to study further. This year, 850,000 matriculants will sit for exams, but only half of them will find a place in universities, TVETs, or CET colleges. The rest will be left behind. Imagine working hard to pass matric, only to be told there is no space for you. That is not just bad planning, it is a betrayal of our generation. At the same time, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is collapsing under the weight of its own failures. Kimberley is the latest example, centred on Sol Plaatje University, where landlords housing more than 500 students have not been paid for over a year. Businesses are closing, jobs are being lost, and students now face the threat of eviction. This is not a “Kimberley issue,” it is a national crisis that repeats itself every year. Meanwhile, vice-chancellors and executives continue to pocket millions while students sleep in libraries, go hungry, and drop out because allowances never arrive. The inequality is staggering, and it proves that the system serves the powerful, not the students. • Now we are told that a “war room” will solve these problems. But students do not need another committee. We need urgent action. Minister Manamela’s war room must address the following issues: • Pay landlords now to stop evictions. • Expand the number of student spaces for 2026 so that no deserving learner is left behind. • Ensure safe, affordable housing by funding universities and TVET colleges to expand residences, and by holding NSFAS and accredited private providers accountable for the conditions students live in. • Stop rewarding executives with inflated salaries while students are denied basic dignity. • Think long term: expand infrastructure, build new universities and TVET colleges, and create the capacity to serve the next generation of students instead of leaving them stranded year after year. The truth is that the Department of Higher Education and Training has failed to plan for the long term. In 2026, we will see the same heartbreak as in 2025: young people arriving at campuses only to be turned away. For 30 years, successive ministers have wasted opportunities and resources, while the system remains stuck in crisis mode. Year after year, students pay the price for their inaction. We as UDESMO say: enough is enough. We will not be silent while our generation is robbed of opportunity. We will organise, we will mobilise, and we will hold government, NSFAS, and institutions accountable. Students cannot wait. Our future cannot be postponed. Inclusion now!
