YCLSA Press Statement January 4, 2013
YCLSA DEPLORES THE ATTACK BY COSAS ON MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING. The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] deplores the attack by the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) on the Minister of Higher Education and Training (HET) and South African Communist Party (SACP) General Secretary, Dr Blade Nzimande. In a statement released today, COSAS Secretary General Tshiamo Tsotetsi wrote "We call upon the department of higher education lead (sic) by so called communist blade Nzimande to scrap away registration fees and application fees." This personal attack on the minister is unwarranted and absolutely unhelpful and ill-informed to say the least. The tremendous challenges that this country faces in education will be solved by working together to find solutions, not by cheap, popularity seeking insults from grandstanding in the comfort of media statements. In its infancy (established in 2009) the department of HET has consistently made strides in ensuring that more students have access to post school education. Compared to all other periods since 1994 the advances achieved by the department of HET in expanding access to post-school education are unmatched. Dr Nzimande as the minister of HET has also been at the forefront of advancing vocational and skills training through Further Education and Training colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities. Under his leadership of the department of HET, increased numbers of deserving students have received bursaries and access to NSFAS as expanded tremendously. We are looking forward to working together with COSAS amongst others in tackling the many challenges that face post-school education and training. This must include work in addressing legislative limitations that have turned into barriers used to prevent the department of HET to intervene in HET institutions on such other matters where it is called upon to intervene. In particular as the YCLSA we want the so-called institutional autonomy to be reviewed as it has become a problem. It is this that COSAS must tackle rather than degenerate as it would definitely if it were to continue with grandstanding and insults. We support COSAS in the call for matric results not to be published in newspapers. In fact this is our call too. As the YCLSA we have been vocal on this issue. We will continue to call on government not publish matric results in newspapers. If need be we shall roll out mass action, in addition to having supported COSAS's march earlier this week in Durban on the matter. We welcome COSAS in working with us on this issue as a matter of urgency prior to the next matric exams. Furthermore, we encourage COSAS to collaborate with the YCLSA’s Joe Slovo Right to Learn campaign. This is a standing campaign that the YCLSA undertakes to ensure that schools are opened on time, books are delivered, teaching take place punctually, access expands, quality and learner performance improve. We shall take up these, other important and programme based matters in our bilateral relations with COSAS. Issued by YCLSA Head Office. For more information contact: Khaya Xaba YCLSA National Spokesperson Cell: 071 115 4619 Sent from my iPad -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
