Studying at university should be a privilege ...... It shouldn't be a privilege to the rich but a privilege to the hard working students....

If you have managed to get good grades in high school and have worked hard to achieve good results then by all means the government should pay for their tuition .... On the other side of the coin if a person has barely managed to reach the required university acceptance level then I think that those people should pay as I am not sure that a person can be rewarded for just scrapping through and doing the bare minimum to enrol in a varsity .....

In my opinion the government must reward students that have excelled in high school and shown dedication to their studies.... Personally I feel like the government should rather create a system that if a person gets good grades and gets decent results then yes by all means that person deserves to have a free education...... But in saying that if they fail a year then they must pay for that year, if they barely make the university acceptance then they must pay for their intuition.....

Studying at university is a privilege, but not because of your financial status or for the colour of your skin..... It should be for privilege for those that have worked hard to get there.....

How many students drop out of university in there second year or treat it as a free ride, allot of the people that can barely afford it seem to understand the struggle to make ends meet every month and those people tend to work harder because they know the sacrifices that they make or their families have made to get them there......

It's easy to say it's not about race, but about privilege. Unfortunately due to our history privilege does have a certain colour in this country. And for those who feel that everything is now equal, see this comic, unfortunately it will take a long time to erase the type of inequality we have in this country: digitalsynopsis.com/inspiration/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris

Well said guys. We would all love a better education including me. I was top of my class but never got the opportunity and do I blame all blacks? No Naledi. The whole point of what Mandela fought for was equality. Meaning all races should be treated equally. Do I think we all deserve better and cheaper education. Yes I do but breaking down what will only cost money to rebuild does not help. If u want to get through to politicians the best way to get their attention is to hit their pockets where it will hurt most.

I dont think its fair to say education should be a privilege only for top notch students. What about an average student who scores an average grade? Surely (s)he also deserves an opportunity to study maybe at technikon and have a chance of being somebody in life.

And Ben name calling these university students protesting against potential threats to their right to education are unfortunate and reckless from a 'man of your calibre'. The right to education is enshrined in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and I believe SA is a signatory. Education is a tool for fighting poverty and according to Global Campaign for Education, providing access to education for all children would avoid 7 million cases of HIV/ Aids.

Finally, in SA, it is almost impossible to objectively talk about equality, wealth and politics without throwing in race. And again just because apartheid ended doesn't mean all races became equal in every sense. A kid of colour needs to work much harder than his white colleague to have the same gains. When we talk about apartheid we are talking about almost half a century of prejudice and oppression which may require twice the amount of time to fully neutralise because its impact extends for even generations to come. If your folk or kith and keen are well positioned or vice versa, in a way so are you. Before I get a backlash for saying the ugly truth I will end here for now.

Savannah I'd like to engage you but you know there's an African proverb about seeds and dry soil so yeah....

@Peterbucks well said. My parents couldn't afford to put me through university. The little they could afford my Dad managed to put me through 2 years of college for which I was grateful. It was also made clear to me that if I failed I would pay all that money back to him. Nobody had to ask me to study. I just did it cos I knew it had to be done. I also worked a part time job for any spare money. It wasn't just handed to me.

"Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit"
The Freedom Charter, 26 June 1955.

This is what Mandela fought for, this is what the ANC promised, this is what the ANC is neglecting and this is what the students want.

Whose gonna pay for it naledi? Money comes from somewhere?

1. The money used to change street names wouldve come in handy,
2. R200m wouldve made a difference,
3. Whatever money that went towards etolls.
4. Tony Yengeni's fleet could see atleast 10 kids graduating with honours. 5. Norma Gigaba's Rolex collection too
6. 1 overpriced tender could feed 1 residence 2 meals a day for a whole semester

Wow!! Some of these repsonses are shocking! Im very happy that the kids are taking an initiative, and for your reference Peter Bucks these are kids who want to do something with themselves making generalisations like you have serves no purposes, they are doing what us adults have failed to do and theri bravey should be applauded. We should be ashamed of ourselves. @Ben these spoilt brats are going to achieve something us adults have failed to do in all this time which is hold governemnt accountable. If we had half the balls these kids have Im pretty sure we wouldnt have a president who can't count properly, e-tolls or a high crime rate. These kids deserve our support. for once I actually feel like there is hope for this broken country of ours