The Young Communist League (YCL) has taken issue with Education Minister Naledi Pandor’s stance on free education.
In a statement on Monday, the league said it had noted the ”cowardly comments” attributed to Pandor, as it related to the ANC’s 52nd national conference on the resolution regarding the gradual introduction of free education for the poor.
”It is regrettable that a member of the national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC is publicly dismissing and denouncing free education as a pipe dream.
”We view these remarks [as] nonsensical and distasteful simply because they are clearly undermining the ANC resolutions and the principle of democratic centralism.
”These remarks are also an attack on the continuous struggles waged by both the students and youth movements in smashing the colonial and capitalist orientated education system in our country,” the league said.
Pandor’s remarks should serve as ”a reminder to our people that beneficiaries of patronage and those in high echelons of power are hell-bent in undermining the gains made in Polokwane, including its progressive resolutions”.
”It will be prudent that we safeguard and defend the Polokwane outcomes even if it means we have to go to the streets in protest. It is our contention as the YCL that the Ministry of Education is not an advanced English college, but is a government institution which needs to conform and comply with the policies of the ruling party — the ANC,” it said.
Last week, Pandor reportedly said free education was unaffordable to the government.
”South Africa must offer free education when it can afford it. Steps must be taken progressively to get to that [free education],” City Press quoted her as saying.
”But can we say let’s have free education tomorrow, unfortunately the reality of the situation is that we cannot.”
Pandor denied going against the ANC’s Polokwane resolutions when she said free education was unattainable now.
She explained that she was part of making those resolutions, because she chaired the commission on education and was a member of the ANC NEC.
Already, she said, part of the resolution for free education was being met by the fact that her department was ”striving to meet the 60% no-fee [target] by 2009”.
Pandor also said the national financial student aid scheme was already supporting thousands who would not necessarily be able to afford tertiary education.
Her department was also looking at measures to set parameters to regulate fee increases at institutions of higher learning.
Progress was being made and an announcement to that effect would be made before the end of the year, Pandor reportedly said. – Sapa