Mukoni T Ratshitanga
THE Ministry of Education is backing a proposal that hundreds of thousands of university, college and technikon students be compelled to carry out community service.
The South African Students’ Congress (Sasco), which first put forward the proposal, this week announced it will “vigorously push” the scheme, called “RDP Students’ Brigades”.
The ministry says it has discussed the plans with Sasco and favours them, though “concrete policies” are still some way off.
“We are not averse to community service, and there are processes to include the matter in policy,” representative Lincoln Mali says. “It will take a bit of time.”
The proposals, if implemented, will broaden community service to take in the whole tertiary education student body. At the moment, teachers are required to undertake on-the-ground training as part of their course, while medical students face two years of vocational training under plans tabled by the health minister.
“Higher education is expensive and elitist,” says Blessing Manale, Sasco’s general secretary. “Our position is that it must be free and commit students to social responsibility. Community service is one of the ways to do so.”
Sasco wants students to devote six months during their undergraduate years to doing community work related to their studies.
It believes the scheme should be funded by the government and organised by stakeholders in tertiary institutions. Sasco already has several such projects under way.
The African National Congress Youth League supports the idea, last weekend calling on all students to support community service.
The National Youth Commission also backs it. Deputy chair Nomfundo Mbuli says the commission is considering a two-pronged approach to community service, which will cover students as well as youths in general.
The National Party Youth says the proposals will merely lead to more students emigrating.
The South African Liberal Students’ Association, which rivals Sasco for support among students, is cautious. Hennie van Vuuren, elected president of the association this week, says it “rejects outright the notion of academic conscription. Why not build a community service component into degrees and make it part of degrees?”