Table Of ContentR
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The book is important for current and future leaders of higher e
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education institutions as it provides insights into the thinking,
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aspirations, desires, fears and modus operandi of student o
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leaders. A ‘must read’ for current and future student leaders. s
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– Prof. Narend Baijnath, Chief Executive Officer, f
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Council on Higher Education
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Reflections of South African Student Leaders 1994-2017 brings
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together the reflections of twelve former SRC leaders from across f
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the landscape of South African universities. Each student leader’s ic
a Reflections of
reflections are presented in a dedicated chapter. Key topics covered
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in the chapters are:
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u South African
• Personal background and context of getting involved in d
student leadership e
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• Role as member of the SRC, SRC model, SRC electoral system t Student Leaders
• Involvement of political parties in student politics and the SRC L
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• Ongoing communication and consultation of the SRC with a
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the student body
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• Relationship with university management and support r
s 1994 to 2017
from student affairs
• Co-operative governance and student representation in
university governance
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• Main challenges, student grievances and demands u
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• Reflections on #FeesMustFall, #EndOutsourcing and s
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#RhodesMustFall h
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• Leedsuscoantiso nfo irn csutirtruetniot nasnd future leaders of higher 19r, W
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Kenny Bafo, Hlomela Bucwa, Lorne Hallendorff
Mpho Khati, Kwenza Madlala, David Maimela
Zukiswa Mqolomba, Prishani Naidoo, Jerome September
Muzi Sikhakhane, Vuyani Sokhaba and Xolani Zuma
Reflections of
South African
Student Leaders
1994 to 2017
Thierry M Luescher, Denyse Webbstock
& Ntokozo Bhengu
FEATURING
Kenny Bafo, Hlomela Bucwa, Lorne Hallendorff,
Mpho Khati, Kwenza Madlala, David Maimela,
Zukiswa Mqolomba, Prishani Naidoo, Jerome September,
Muzi Sikhakhane, Vuyani Sokhaba and Xolani Zuma
Published in 2020 by African Minds
4 Eccleston Place, Somerset West, 7130, Cape Town, South Africa
[email protected]
www.africanminds.org.za
and
Council on Higher Education (South Africa)
1 Quintin Brand Street, Persequor Technopark, Pretoria, 0020
Tel: +27 12 349 3840
[email protected]
www.che.ac.za
2020 African Minds
All contents of this document, unless specified otherwise, are licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. When quoting from any
of the chapters, readers are requested to acknowledge the relevant author.
Cite as: Luescher, T.M., Webbstock, D. & Bhengu, N. (Eds) (2020). Reflections of South African Student
Leaders, 1994 to 2017. Cape Town: African Minds.
ISBN: 978-1-928502-09-8
eBook edition: 978-1-928502-10-4
ePub edition: 978-1-928502-11-1
Copies of this book are available for free download at:
www.africanminds.org.za
www.che.ac.za
ORDERS:
African Minds
Email: [email protected]
Or the Council on Higher Education
Email: [email protected]
To order printed books from outside Africa, please contact:
African Books Collective
PO Box 721, Oxford OX1 9EN, UK
Email: [email protected]
contents
Tables and figures ..............................................................................................iv
Abbreviations and acronyms ................................................................................v
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ix
Preface ...............................................................................................................xi
Chapter 1 A quarter-century of student leadership .......................................1
Chapter 2 Muzi Sikhakhane ........................................................................18
Chapter 3 Prishani Naidoo ..........................................................................40
Chapter 4 Jerome September .......................................................................61
Chapter 5 Kenny Mlungisi Bafo ..................................................................81
Chapter 6 David Maimela .........................................................................106
Chapter 7 Xolani Zuma.............................................................................129
Chapter 8 Zukiswa Mqolomba ..................................................................156
Chapter 9 Kwenzokuhle Madlala ..............................................................175
Chapter 10 Lorne Hallendorff ....................................................................199
Chapter 11 Hlomela Bucwa ........................................................................214
Chapter 12 Vuyani Ceassario Sokhaba ........................................................230
Chapter 13 Mpho Khati ..............................................................................253
Chapter 14 Continuities and discontinuities in student leadership:
Has co-operative governance failed? .........................................277
About the editors ............................................................................................311
Index ..............................................................................................................313
tables and figures
Table 1 Selection criteria and participants......................................................... 11
Table 2 P articipants’ involvement in student politics
at South African public universities...................................................... 13
Figure 1 Word cloud of student leaders’ reflections........................................281
iv / Reflections of South African Student Leaders
abbreviations
and acronyms
AGM Annual General Meeting
ANC African National Congress
ANCYL ANC Youth League
ASB Afrikaanse Studentebond
AZAPO Azanian People’s Organisation
AZASCO Azanian Student Convention
BA Bachelor of Arts
BAdmin Bachelor of Administration
BCom Bachelor of Commerce
BEC Branch Executive Committee
BSocSci Bachelor of Social Sciences
BTech Bachelor of Technology
CA chartered accountant
Cape Tech Cape Technikon
CFO Chief Financial Officer
CHC Central House Committee
CHE Council on Higher Education
COSAS Congress of South African Students
CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology
DA Democratic Alliance
DASO Democratic Alliance Students Organisation
DG director-general
DHET Department of Higher Education and Training
DP duly performed (certificate)
DUT Durban University of Technology
DVC deputy vice-chancellor
EFF Economic Freedom Fighters
EFFSC EFF Student Command
iv / Reflections of South African Student Leaders Abbreviations and acronyms // vv
eNCA eNews Channel Africa
FFACT Forum for Further Accelerated and Comprehensive
Transformation
GC General Council
GEAR Growth, Employment and Redistribution
HE Higher education
HESA Higher Education South Africa (now: USAf)
HR Human resources
HSRC Human Sciences Research Council
IEC Independent Electoral Commission
IF Institutional Forum
IFP Inkatha Freedom Party
ILSA International Law Student Association
ISM International Socialist Movement
LLB Bachelor of Laws
MA Master of Arts
ManCord Management Coordination Committee
MEC Member of the Executive Council
MEDUNSA Medical University of South Africa
MISTRA Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection
MP Member of Parliament
MUT Mangosuthu University of Technology
MK Umkhonto we Sizwe
NCHE National Commission on Higher Education
NEC National Executive Committee
NECC National Education Crisis Committee
NEHAWU National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union
NEUSA National Education Union of South Africa
NMU Nelson Mandela University
NRF National Research Foundation
NSFAS National Student Financial Aid Scheme
NUSAS National Union of South African Students
PABASA Pan African Bar Association of South Africa
PAC Pan Africanist Congress of Azania
PASMA Pan Africanist Students’ Movement of Azania
PASO Pan Africanist Student Organisation
PenTech Peninsula Technikon
PLT Practical Legal Training
PQM Programme and qualifications mix
PYA Progressive Youth Alliance
RAG Remember and Give
RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme
vi / Reflections of South African Student Leaders
Res student residence
RCL Representative Council of Learners
SA South Africa
SAB South African Breweries
SACP South African Communist Party
SADESMO South African Democratic Student Movement
SALSA South African Liberal Students Association
SANSCO South African National Students’ Congress
SAQA South African Qualifications Authority
SASCO South African Students’ Congress
SASO South African Students Organisation
SATSU South African Technikon Students’ Union
SAUS South African Union of Students
SAU-SRC South African Universities Students’ Representative Councils
SC senior counsel
SG secretary-general
SHAWCO Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation
SMS short message service
SPU Sol Plaatje University
SRC Students’ Representative Council
SSAC Student Socialist Action Committee
SSSC Student Support Services Council
SU Stellenbosch University
TB tuberculosis
TEFSA Tertiary Education Fund for South Africa
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training
UCSA United Christian Students of South Africa
UCT University of Cape Town
UDF United Democratic Front
UDW University of Durban-Westville
UFS University of the Free State
UJ University of Johannesburg
UNISA University of South Africa
UP University of Pretoria
USA United States of America
USAf Universities South Africa
USF United Student Front
UWC University of the Western Cape
UZ University of Zululand
VC vice-chancellor
Wits University of the Witwatersrand
YCL Young Communist League
Abbreviations and acronyms // vviiii
acknowledgements
Reflections of South African Student Leaders, 1994 to 2017 is a collection of the
reflections of 12 former student leaders who were in positions of leadership in South
African public universities – typically as presidents of Students’ Representative
Councils (SRC) or as executive members of institutional SRCs between 1994 and
2017.
For the Council on Higher Education (CHE), the book is a continuation
of its Reflections Project. In 2016, the CHE published the reflections of eight
former vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors in the book Reflections of
South African University Leaders, 1981 to 2014. For the Human Sciences Research
Council (HSRC), its participation in the project is part of researching the historical
dimension of the post-apartheid student movement to enrich its project ‘The New
South African Student Movement: From #RhodesMustFall to #FeesMustFall’.
All the research material generated from this project will be made available for
secondary analysis to other researchers who are interested in student leadership
in South Africa. The repositories chosen for the data are South African History
Online (for open data) and the HSRC Data Curation Unit (for data that require
ethics clearance prior to access).
A project of this magnitude relies on the goodwill, support and expertise
of many. As the editors-cum-authors of the book, we would first of all like to
thank all the former student leaders who contributed to this book and who are
acknowledged here as the co-authors of their respective chapters.
We would also like to acknowledge specifically the contributions of:
• Ms Tania Fraser, administrative officer of the HSRC in Cape Town, who
has tirelessly ensured that the project comes to fruition by managing it first
from the HSRC’s side and eventually for both the CHE and the HSRC after
March 2019.
Acknowledgements // iixx
