The South African Students’ Congress (Sasco) on Monday rejected an apology in a weekend newspaper by the University of the Free State and called for the resignation of Education Minister Naledi Pandor.
”We outrightly reject the apology as students and continue to call for more harsher forms of punishment of the perpetrators and protectors,” said Sasco spokesperson David Maimela in a statement.
The full-page advertisement in the Sunday Times came after a racist video that sparked a national outcry as it showed black university employees on their knees eating food that had apparently been urinated upon by a white student.
The video depicted a mock initiation of five black staff members into hostel activities and referred to the university’s integration policy for campus residences announced last year.
In the advertisement, the university said it recognised the video as racist and showed disrespect towards fellow human beings ”who were not only black, but were older, women and socially and economically disadvantaged”.
Maimela said the apology by the council and the vice-chancellor was extremely patronising as the incident was not only an insult to ”black or disadvantaged people”, as the statement wrongly assumed, but also to all of humanity. ”This is what the university misses and it makes the apology patronising.”
He also called for the axing of Pandor, saying she had not played a role in sending a strong message to all universities that have failed to transform into truly South African universities. ”She has failed the people of this country and we continue to call for her head to roll as well,” Maimela said.
Universities are still run like private institutions at a time when transformation must be accelerated, he said, adding that transformation is a central and a non-negotiable imperative.
”The university has consciously protected, promoted and pursued racism in a post-apartheid South Africa, even as they continued at a campus level to campaign against this and other issues,” he said.
Sasco also questioned the funding of the advertisement. ”The vice-chancellor did not use his money to pay for the advert; he dug into university subsidies, taxpayers’ money and student funds.” — Sapa