In March this year, students at the University of Cape Town protested for the removal of the statue of Cecil John Rhodes from their campus. Under the banner of Rhodes Must Fall, the campaign for the statue’s removal received global attention and led to a wider movement to “decolonise” education across South Africa.
This spurred the emergence of allied student movements at other universities.
In July, Open Stellenbosch, a group of students from Stellenbosch University began their fight for a more inclusive language policy.
By October, students from Wits University started protesting against fee increases. This galvanised students from other universities across the country, who also began protesting for free access to higher education. Thousands of students demanding a 0% fee increase forced their universities to shut down, and in some instances, to cancel exams.
This year, students have shown what collective effort and tenacity can do to bring about change.
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