Johannesburg - Free education is not feasible and protesting students were misguided if they thought free-for-all studying was possible.
So said Struggle stalwart Andrew Mlangeni in an exclusive interview with The Star.
Most government officials and ANC leaders have opted to be cautious by not openly criticising the protesters in the #FeesMustFall movement.
They have only said while they understood or sympathised with the students’ fight for free education, they were against the violence accompanying the protests.
Mlangeni was, however, candid in his assessment.
“You see, I don’t know of any country where there is absolutely free education. I don’t know of any country,” he said.
“My son Sello is an electrical engineer and he was educated in Denmark. Denmark is a welfare state, and you get sort-of free education. Free, in the sense that you don’t pay for it - but in an interim form.
“The taxes are very, very high. The taxes you pay help to pay for your school fees, your university fees, your medical treatment. It appears as if it’s free but it’s not free because the taxes are very, very high. But the people of Denmark are used to it; they like that system.”
Mlangeni said he backed Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande’s stance that the government could not pay for students whose parents could afford fees.
“Why should we pay for them? They are capable of paying their fees. The minister says the government is prepared to help students who cannot afford (fees). I am for that myself.”
Last month, Nzimande said universities could increase fees next year but not by more than 8 percent. He said the government would assist households with an income of up to R600 000 a year with subsidy funding to cover the gap between the 2015 fees and adjusted 2017 fees.
Mlangeni said he was disturbed by the destruction that has accompanied the protests.
“What I don’t like is the destruction of people’s property. That I will condemn at any time.
“We made a law - it’s in the constitution - that people should be free to protest against anything but the protests must be peaceful. If you are going to destroy people’s property, motor vehicles in the streets, destroy buildings, that I can never support,” he said.
“It’s very sad to see them, our own children, destroying their own facilities, which they use for their own training and education, and after destroying them they say 'We have no facilities'.”
He said it was possible the students were being misled, but he wouldn’t say by whom.
“It’s their type of politics. They say criminal elements have crept into their struggle, and not themselves, but we see them on television.
“I don’t think they understand the meaning of freedom. If they did, I don’t think they would be encouraging the destruction of property.
“But to pay for children whose parents are rich, no, no, forget about that one.”
When asked if protests were partly caused by the government creating expectations, Mlangeni said: “It’s a misunderstanding, including the misinterpretation of the Freedom Charter.
“The Freedom Charter says the doors of learning shall be open to all; nowhere does it say free education.”
lebogang.seale@inl.co.za
The Star