The NRF conceded that the dignity of minorities should be protected and that policy based on race should be phased out in future, as far as this is possible within the framework of governmental stipulations,” said Charl Oberholzer, National Chairperson of AfriForum Youth.

According to Oberholzer the meeting agreed that governmental targets which measure output in terms of race remain the biggest obstacle to a truly non-racial process for awarding bursaries. “Funding was also identified as an obstacle. With more funds, every person will have the ability to embark on postgraduate studies. Currently 7 from 10 applicants are denied bursaries by die NRF due to a shortage of funds,” Oberholzer said.

AfriForum Youth pointed out that race should not be used to determine to what extent an individual qualifies for empowerment, as a poor white student should be as entitled to empowerment programmes and bursaries as black students.

“This was a constructive meeting and both parties discussed the complexity of representation and redressing policies. We should not be hogtied by die solutions offered by the ANC. It is possible to propose solutions that are to the benefit of all South Africans. AfriForum Youth and the NRF agreed that education and training are the most important factors in South Africa’s future,” Oberholzer said.

The meeting was requested by AfriForum Youth after various complaints were received from students regarding requirements by the NRF for certain bursary programmes. White students must, for example, complete their degrees within the prescribed times, while students of colour may take longer to complete their degrees and still qualify for bursaries. Certain criteria also indicate that 85% of students must be black and that priority will be given in every instance to a student from a designated group. The NRF points out, however, that they maintain strict goals and that excellence is not negotiable.

A delegation from AfriForum Youth met with Dr Van Jaarsveld, CEO of the NRF, Dr Pillay, the Deputy CEO, Dr. Nthambeleni, Executive Director of Bursaries and Management Systems and Mr Mahlangu, Corporate Legal Representative for the NRF.

The NRF intends to fund more than 4500 black students in 2013 for postgraduate studies, and currently spends more than R1.8 billion on bursaries. The NRF also aims to support five times this number by 2020 in order to ensure that South Africa remains competitive in a globalizing world.

Alumni and student review needed

AfriForum Youth UP celebrated Freedom Day by depicting the impact of racial profiling at the UP by selling coffee to white students at R5 per cup, while coloured and Indian students paid R3 and black students paid only R1. ANC supporters qualified for free coffee if they made a donation to the corruption fund.

“Why does a university prohibit you from driving a campaign for a non-racial society? We may speak on behalf of students, because 97% of students at Tuks voted YES for the abolition of racial profiling earlier this year,” said Barend Taute, Chairperson of AfriForum Youth UP.

“19 years after South Africa was ostensibly freed from racial profiling, students at the UP are still admitted based on their race. Students want to be free from racial profiling, and this action is a way to show how inane racial bias has become,” said Taute.

Students lined up to buy their coffee at “affirmative action prices” and mark their protest against racial profiling in a light-hearted way. Students on the campus were very positive about the way in which affirmative action had been depicted on campus. Others expressed their dissatisfaction on social media that they had to pay different prices for coffee because they belonged to different races. According to Taute, these reactions are telling, as students frequently accept affirmative action as a part of life, until it is applied in a different context and it becomes clear how a policy based on races can disadvantage individuals.

According to Taute, this action is a practical depiction of the true impact of affirmative action on students. “Students at the UP are tired of racial discrimination,” said Taute.

In faculties such as Veterinary Sciences and Health Sciences, race is still determining factor, but in residences the campaign of AfriForum Youth against racial profiling is making inroads. In 2012 AfriForum Youth received several complaints from residences regarding the quota system used in the election of house committees (HCs), but after AfriForum had followed up with the UP, it was agreed to have one test residence where the quota would be lowered to 2 students per HC instead of 5. According to Taute, students who apply for bursaries and loans are also selected according to their race. AfriForum Youth has scheduled a meeting for 7 May with the national management of the National Research Foundation (NRF) to discuss the principle of avoiding racial bias in the allocation of bursaries.

AfriForum Youth wants to see racial profiling at universities gradually eliminated, and wants to make students aware of the true impact of affirmative action policy on individuals and the country as a whole.

Open letter to Rector

“The new policy profiles students strictly according to their ethnicity, language and culture. What students look like, the language they speak and who their parents are, will now determine where they may live. The approval of this policy means that the US now openly discriminates against minorities,” said Conrad Basson, Chairperson of AfriForum Youth US.

The letter warns that students, and especially minorities, are no longer willing to be pawns in the ideological power games of the University.

The policy determines inter alia that 40% of placements will be done based on language preference, race, nationality, economic circumstances and whether the parents of the student had attended a tertiary institution. AfriForum Youth US is of the opinion that this constitutes discrimination against students who are white, Afrikaans and the children of Matie alumni.

The purpose of the “acceptable discrimination”, according to the US, is creating diversity. Basson, however, says that diversity will only be achieved if everyone is allowed to compete for a place in the residence on the basis of merit. Students who experience obstacles to entering the system should also be equally entitled to academic support and help. No student should be refused access to opportunities at the US on the basis of race.

The policy had been amended nine times during the past two years. “Exact racial and language targets were removed from the policy, and the US believes that university officials will decide which diversity targets should be reached. This means that the university will be discriminating against students behind closed doors,” Basson said.

Another motion that served before the Convocation was that the placement policy should be revised. This motion was defeated with 120 votes against 116. The accepted motion will serve before the US Council on 29 April.

The referendum specifically addressed the admission of students to certain faculties, the way bursaries are awarded and the composition of house committees that are racially manipulated. More than 2030 students participated in the referendum and the vast majority voted YES for the abolition of racial profiling at the UP.

AfriForum Youth has received a growing number of complaints during the past three years from students who were refused bursaries, leadership positions and even admission to the University based on the colour of their skin. This referendum is a strong signal of the dissatisfaction within the student community regarding the unfair and biased practices of the University when formulating policy,” said Barend Taute, chair of AfriForum Youth UP.

AfriForum Youth handed a memorandum to the UP with the following requests:

• That admission to faculties, especially the Faculties of Health and Veterinary Sciences, should be granted only on and in order of merit. Prospective students should not have to indicate their race during the application process;
• That race not be used as determining factor for the allocation of bursaries that are awarded directly by the UP to students;
• That the quota for house committees should be changed from 5 to 2 quota members per HC in order to gradually free residences from racial profiling.

“This referendum, which was conducted amongst all race groups at the UP, should underpin all future policies and the amendment of current racial policies,” Taute said.

AfriForum Youth further says that while the referendum is not a statistical study, it does indicate clearly that students do not want to be divided into racial categories, as current university and government policies often prescribe.

During the presentation of the banner, UP’s campus security demanded AfriForum Youth to remove the banner.

This referendum forms part of the campaign by AfriForum Youth UP to include the input of students on key policy issues which underlie the 2025 Plan at the University of Pretoria.

“About 14 learners had received their results and can now embark on their plans for the future,” Charl Oberholzer, National Chairperson of AfriForum Youth, said.

AfriForum Youth had sent letter of demand to the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga on 21 January, and to the MECs of Education in the relevant provinces regarding matric results that had still not been released. After AfriForum Youth had threatened to bring a court application on behalf of the relevant learners, the Department yesterday released a detailed report on every learner’s situation as well as their results to the attorneys for AfriForum Youth.

Oberholzer said there were cases where schools or institutions did not submit all marks to the Department, or where learners were not on the Department’s system and had therefor been referred to Umalusi, but that all cases with which the Department could have assisted, have been resolved.

“We are very happy to have assisted learners. The biggest challenge, however, is to stop the same problem from occurring year after year. We will keep in contact with the Department of Basic Education in this regard,” Oberholzer said.

AfriForum Youth will continue to investigate all new complaints regarding matric results and will contact the Department on learners’ behalf.

“In reality the tax system already exists, as South Africans are subject to a progressive tax structure where they have to pay 25%, 30%, 35%, 38% or 40% of their income to the State, depending on their level of income. South Africans with higher incomes already pay more tax,” says Danie Ungerer, spokesperson of AfriForum Youth.

The tax was first proposed at the Mangaung Conference in December last year. The ANC did not propose a time frame for implementation or any percentage or amount to be levied against such a person’s income.

“A degree does not automatically mean that you are able to afford additional taxes. The Census of 2011 shows that 69% of 21 year old graduates earn less than R6400 per month. Such a tax will also create a climate where young people are discouraged to further their studies. It can lead to even more graduates leaving the country. Government is supposed to reward people who make an impact on the economy and who have the ability to generate employment,” Ungerer said.

Ungerer added that if the purpose of the tax was to bolster the NSFAS bursary scheme, this was not the way to do it. Indirectly, graduates who received money from NSFAS, will have to repay loans by means of a special tax. NSFAS should do what all other bursary schemes do: recoup the money from the recipients themselves. If the idea is that students who do not receive money from NSFAS should repay the loans by means of a special tax, it is even more unacceptable.

AfriForum Youth will request the Subcommittee to open the process to public consultation.

The Committee was announced on 23 January after a report on transformation in public universities was submitted by Prof Crain Soudien and his committee, wherein it was concluded that transformation was not taking place fast enough.

“There is a fine line between working towards a non-racial society and redressing injustices of the past, and to propagate new forms of discrimination by steamrolling the cultures of minorities in public institutions with African nationalism,” Charl Oberholzer, National Chairperson of AfriForum Youth, said today.

The mandate of the Committee includes, inter alia, recommendations to the Minister regarding university residences and practices, student and other management structures, institutional culture of students and personnel, as well as social cohesion in universities. The Minister indicated that the Committee will work with a “narrower definition of transformation”.

“The Minister’s speech is loaded with political buzzwords, and it is clear that the Committee, which is chaired by Prof Malegapuru Makgoba, Vice-Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, aims to marginalise minority groups under the guise of a fight against racism,” Oberholzer said.

AfriForum Youth also believes that the Committee is too biased to make recommendations regarding systems that will eliminate all kinds of racism. AfriForum Youth wants a society where race is not used to allocate opportunities, and where discrimination and racism will be replaced by a culture of respect for other groups.

 “At the previous match on 11 February, hundreds of Tuks students traded their seats on the pavilion for a seat at a bar television. The UP is not supposed to make money of students’ loyalty towards the sport,” Barend Taute, Chairperson of AfriForum Youth Tuks said.

Taute is of the opinion that R50 is too expensive for students, especially compared to the price of tickets to a Currie Cup rugby match, and that students are not supposed to pay to support their own university. “Thousands of students were last year swept away by the spirit of the Varsity Cup, but support at the previous match was disappointing,” Taute said.

AfriForum Youth, in the letter, requests an explanation from the UP for the sudden levy and advised FNB and Steinhoff to step in to prevent the poor student support at rugby matches from harming the tournament.

According to Taute, students want something to be proud about and rugby offers this opportunity to all students. “To charge students up to R50 per ticket will only dampen the spirit of Tuks supporters,” Taute concluded.

Students can stay abreast of developments surrounding the campaign by following AfriForum Youth on Twitter and Facebook.