South Africa’s higher education sector has been rocked over the last two years as the Fees Must Fall protests at universities, colleges and technikons have exposed and emphasised the financial struggles of aspiring graduates. But as the political drama between the state, students and university management has entered the fray, attention has been diverted from the core matter at hand – the narrative of everyday people struggling for access to education and the systemic exclusion this speaks of.
Through this six-part series The Daily Vox hopes to reprioritise these voices.
The Daily Vox interviewed people from across the country who are struggling for higher education funding, some of whom are looking to study further and rock academia.
Keitsitse
Keitsitse is an unemployed single mother trying to register for her Masters in architecture. She left her job to pursue her studies full-time but her family income of R120, 000 a year is insufficient to pay her fees of R59, 030. She was declined for NSFAS funding and can’t register at Wits.
Portia
Portia is incredibly passionate about education and children, and aims to use it to empower the marginalised and improve their lives. She believes that educating children is the biggest contribution to the future one can make. She was born with dwarfism and has faced job discrimination due to this. She has been accepted at UJ to study Honours in Early Childhood Development. She is from Mpumalanga and is supported by her mother, but the family income in insufficient for her fees of R38, 000.
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