NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, November 17, 2017

South Africa may never be able to make good on its liberation promise of free education for all. On Nov. 13, a commission appointed to investigate the possibility of free higher education confirmed it had found it was not feasible, an outcome that may see the country’s campuses erupt in protest again.

The promise of free education is one South Africa’s liberation heroes have made since 1955 through the Freedom Charter document. The commission’s findings contradict the charter’s dreams and president Jacob Zuma’s compromise to students during the 2015 #FeesMustFall protests that free education was indeed possible. The plan outlined by the Heher Commission requires the kind of public goodwill and administrative efficiency that the Zuma government just doesn’t have right now.

Photo courtesy of John Hogg.