BACKGROUND
Coastal KZN FET College is the biggest College in the province of Kwa-
Zulu Natal with eight campuses namely Umbumbulu Campus, Swinton
Campus, Durban Campus, Umlazi-V Campus, Umlazi-BB Campus, As-Salaam
Campus, Ubuhle Bogu Campus and Appelsbosch Campus but one have to ask
if this college is really making any effort to make sure that it
maximize the enrolment.
As a mobilized young intelligentsia, we plead NOT GUILTY to the
capitalist exploitation (College Top Management and As-Salaam
Council). The current economic trajectory in South Africa breathes the
impossibility for almost all sections of the society where the working
class or its strata is dominant.
We have been seeing many statement issued by various stakeholders and
we strongly feel that we the Central SRC of the institution should
reaffirm our position hence other statements are misleading because at
no stage did students from Coastal KZN FET College have fought for
NSFAS change money to be given back to them.
Coastal KZN FET College Top Management led by Mr. PC Tigere is
marginalizing students of this College either racial, gander, race and
religion, however we can’t be keeping quite about these things as they
affect us hence these are not the words of a dead man addressing dead
issues but are words addressing concerning the day-to-day life of
students of the working class.
"We can only go beyond superficial and often deceptive impressions by
digging beneath the surface so as to understand the underlying
reality." ("Dialego", aka as John Hoffman). And Karl Marx once said
“The past lies like a nightmare upon the present”.
If we re-look at the appointment of the current top management even
the Council didn’t have confidence enough to select Mr. PC Tigere to
lead the College thus the College firstly selected Mr. PO Odendaal but
he rejected, therefore this leadership was second choice infect was a
run away of living the College without commander in reality.
We therefore see a strong need to ask for this revolutionary
intervention from Department of Higher Education and Training
progressive force in making sure that the institution is properly
managed hence things are abnormal in this institution.
ISSUES THAT ARE ON THE TABLE ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1) The recognition of student society clubs as even college status
says “SRC is the umbrella body of all student clubs, council,
societies, parliamentary, etc and has the right to grant or withdraw
recognition whenever it necessary”.
2) SAFETY
student throughout the CoastalKZN FET College does not have anything
proving that there are student from this College, thus finding that in
campuses everyone is entering without having to show prove of
registration. (Last year there were incidents where students were
mugged within the campus by external people). A student lost her life
due as she was smashed by the tractor while in the Campus at Umbumbulu
Campus.
3) LIBRARIES
It is very disappointing that not even one campus out of eight
campuses have productive library. At BB campus only one computer
working in library (1000 students in campus), at Umbumbulu only four
computers working (1500 students in campus), DBN twenty working
computer working (1500 students in campus), worse case at Umlazi V
there is not even one computer and text books are irrelevant etc,
however students are not allowed to use computer labs.
4) RESULTS
At BB Campus many students dropped out due to the negligent of not
adding their year mark into the final mark (Nated) thus finding that
many students did not come back. In the same Campus there are students
who haven’t obtained their results of Applied Accounting for 2011
supplementary examination due to the fact that their scripts were not
marked yet students were claimed to have been absent on the day. Until
today we still don’t know about these problematic officials implicated
with these actions yet that students are victimized daily.
On the 22nd July 2011 students, College Top Management and Department
officials met but until today resolutions of that meeting has not been
upheld. While we have this kind of management that can’t implements
decisions of the Department or College Council.
5) NSFAS
Students have not been told if they got 2011 NSFAS bursaries or not at
this time of the year. This year students are still asked to apply
again but even now there have not been given transport and
accommodation allowances to those without residences.
According to the NSFAS DHET FET guideline its state very clear that
“only students granted bursary should sign SOP hence this SOP is the
agreement between NSFAS and a student that the student have received
NSFAS” therefore we believe in this college there are irregularity
with regards to this because students signs SOP’s before knowing their
application status.
The administration of NSFAS is a big challenge facing the College as
the College is making a huge loss with regards to students residing in
hostel yet there are not claimed for from NSFAS e.g. Umlazi V Campus
last year claimed for only 4 students from NSFAS. It can’t be true and
it can never be true that at this time of the year not even one
student from Coastal KZN FET College has received Accommodation and
Transport allowance.
Therefore our arguments is that it’s shouldn’t be people to decides on
how much should students should be getting BUT it’s should be
conditions that students are living under that determine how much
should a student be given then in that way we would be fair to
ourselves.
6) TEXTBOOK
Students doing report programme 191(NATED) haven’t been given textbook
but there are now writing their final examinations.
7) RECOVERY (SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMS)
Very sad again that in one year the recovery programme payment has
increased twice without consulting students’ leadership prior moreover
the initial amount was R90.00 and was increased to R100.00 but all of
a sudden it now R200.00 per subject of which to us it doesn’t make
sense and we still condemn this. At no stage in South Africa we have
experience price to increase by 100% even patrol rate have never.
8) BUILDINGS
Early April state government announce that there is a strong intention
to increase the capacity of FET Colleges moreover this management
attended a meeting with ministry and President BUT still choose to
build staff residences at UBUHLE BOGU CAMPUS knowing very well that
there is a shortage of classrooms in that campus. In every classroom
there, students are more then fifty (50) this seeks to critically
outline the type of leadership we currently have and showing that
there is no way forward but we are going down as a Province and as a
Nation.
All student residences are not in good state for a human being worse
for a student expected to excel in his/her academics (Umbumbulu,
Umlazi V and As-Salaam). The status of Umlazi-V Campus student
residences are in a horrifying state.
9) FRAUD AND CORRUPTION
Some College officials have been taking money from students in
exchange for marks cooking, and some taking money for registration
without giving students slips. This was reported to the Top Management
but nothing is done, we don’t know if it’s waiting for the next
semester then students are victimized again.
10) JOB PLACEMENT OFFICER
After firing Mr. F Grey in August 2012 till today there hasn’t been
any replacement to assist students with Job Placement. And this is
contradictory with the New Growth Path strategy of creating more
employment opportunities for post graduates. Currently the country is
facing crisis with high unemployment rate an estimated of 255 000
unemployed graduates in SA moreover there are 5 million SMME companies
in rural and townships with limited staff but all these fact
management didn’t take into account when firing Mr Grey.
AS-SALAAM CAMPUS
How come the College let the Muslim community control like there are
in control at As-Salaam Campus? What happening at As-Salaam is
tarnishing the image of the College and we, as student leadership
condemn it very strongly and must be stopped as soon as possible.
We strongly would appeal that the council should re-look relations of
Coastal KZN FET College and Muslim relating the manner in which this
Campus operates furthermore express again our disappointments to this
current top management of the College by not trying to come to the
party with regards to solving the issues but there were oppressing us.
One should ask why in that particular campus we don’t even have one
senior lecture appointed by CKZN FET College yet we are claiming it
one of our own campus.
At this Campus non-Muslim students are expected to wake up in the
morning as soon as Muslim students are going for prayer.
Student have never had Local SRC President of a female just because
in Muslim a female is not allowed to lead this is directly speaks to
undermine our rights and we shall if not getting assistance report
this matter to Human Right Commission.
Students are residing in the residence are forced to attend Muslim
classes that are not related in anyhow to our curriculum and worse
those classes are conducted in Arabic (note that if a student fails
then he/she is kicked out of residence).
Students are told what to wear and not to wear, we fully condemn
this action because this is a higher institution of higher learning
and doors of learning should be open to all thus this institution is
not providing uniform for students to wear.
AND ALL THOSE RESIDING INSIDE RESIDENCES SHOULD ATTEND CLASSES THAT
ARE CONDUCTED IN ARABIC. THIS IS NOT EVEN IN THEIR CURRICULUM.
Democracy and its institutions promised a life for all women free from
marginalization, discrimination, exclusion, harassment, violence and
fear that they had lived with under apartheid. But even after 18 years
of democracy, little has changed in the majority of lives of women,
black working class poor women. It is these conditions that women
continue to find themselves that has a serious and direct impact on
why we have extremely huge and worrying differences in gender in terms
of accessing institutions of learning even after accessing
institutions, there are campuses that can marginalize, discriminate,
exclude woman in leadership. As woman can not lead SRC structure in
this community hence it has been the case in the past.
Furthermore, It is imperative or rather fundamental that we all asks
ourselves if the existence of cultural and ethnic diversity side by
side with unifying processes, has aroused friendly queries on our
approach to the national question. Do we believe that our peoples
already constitute one nation? If not, are they (or should they be)
moving towards single or separate nationhood? What is the future of
the cultural and linguistic diversity and how do we cater for this
diversity within the framework of a unitary state?
Genuine worries about some of our approaches and formulations (whether
from a ‘right’ or ‘left’ position) must be debated and not merely
dismissed. In this spirit, then, we proceed to consider the
following:
• Class struggle and national struggle
• The stages of struggle
• Working class leadership
• The building of the Coastal KZN FET College
The end of apartheid promised a better life for all those who had been
marginalized, discriminated against and exploited by a system that
enforced inequality on the basis of racial, ethnic, class, and gender
differences. Women and “black” women in particular suffered specific
forms of oppression and exploitation that sustained the apartheid
economy.
We hope and having a trust in this Council by making this pamphlet and
it will help expand the discussion of the theoretical basis of our
revolutionary practice in the present phase of the struggle.
Malcolm X once said “Education is our passport to the future, for
tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today” but in this
institution therefore we have to wonder if we are to build good Nation
and let remember that without education, we are in a horrible and
deadly danger of taking educated people seriously that include
capitalist making it very tough for us to reach socialism.
CONCLUSION
Information is the source of power. During apartheid era our people
were compelled to apply to government whenever they wanted to move
from the rural to urban areas, this was the formal exclusion of our
people to be exposed to the beauty of urban areas. This kind of
attitude had colonized our people psychologically to think that it was
indeed correct for them to request consent for their movement
It is for this reason we, central SRC are calling for the immediate
removal of College Top Management for the best interest of this
institution and society at large.
And furthermore we appreciate the pronouncement made by Minister of
Higher Education and Training that his Department will investigate
around As-Salaam Campus matters, we would like to further state that
the investigation would be fertile as students are out of residences
at this point in time.
We strongly believe that both College Council and Department have
deployed failures to this institution thus we would like to be part
during recommendations for bringing back stability to this
institution.
We will continue to engage. Through this process it is hoped that even
if the pace of education transformation and the implementation of free
education is harrowingly slow, this must remain a matter of the
society and Minister
The struggle is long from over!
For more information please contact Central SRC President or Central
SRC Secretary General, Mfundo Mokoena on 0844648144 or Mazisi Ostrich
on 0739947444
Regards,
Mazisi Ostrich
Central SRC Secretary General
Coastal KZN FET College
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