Politically affiliated student organisations and their relevance to contemporary student matters
It is no secret that student organisations in South Africa take up a political party structural backbone – this includes leadership, policy-making and even rallying and campaigning for support and additional membership. Though they may have advocated for one another and collaborated in the struggle for a new and inclusive South Africa, history has proved that student organisations with mass following in the past have had no direct link nor affiliation with particular political parties.
According to the South African Students Congress (SASCO) website, the National Union of South African Student’s (NUSAS) was the first student organisation that the country saw in 1924 with the sole aim of representing the matters and interests of university and college students. It is said to have been structurally run like a political party to engage with the government and address student matters. SA History further explains that “in [the] 1960s NUSAS handled 60 overseas scholarships and awarded 25 medical scholarships of its own. Local centres of NUSAS used to organise vocational part-time employment for its members”, – thus, highlighting the works of the student organisation and its positive contributions to student livelihoods and wellbeing. However, some students did not feel represented by the organisation and broke away from NUSAS to form their own organisation, SASO. Although NUSAS later formed an alliance with the United Democratic Front in the 1980s, it had no political party ties as a student organisation.
In comparison to NUSAS, the South African Student’s Organisation (SASO) was founded in 1968 by Steve Biko (who was elected president of the party in the subsequent year) and his counterparts. SASO had been established to represent the needs of black students during the time because they felt misrepresented by NUSAS as an organisation. SASO had a clear-cut mandate and policy for it’s plans and aims as an organisation. In I Write What I Like, Steve Biko highlights some of the aims of SASO to be:“Where possible to put into effect programmes designed to meet the needs of the non-white students and to act on a collective basis in an effort to solve some of the problems which beset the centres individually.
To heighten the degree of contact not only amongst the non-white students but also amongst these the rest of the South African student population, to make the non-white students accepted on their own terms as an integral part of the South African student community. To protect the interests of the member centres and to act as a pressure group on all institutions and organisations for the benefit of non-white students”.
“ Political parties play a key
rule in student governance
[as] they have a greater reach
over different [kinds of]
students and the challenges
that students are facing.
Jaco Van Jaarsveld is the current SRC Secretary
Officer and ran as an independant candidate.
SASO as a student organisation at the time had no direct links and affiliation to and with any political party in the country. It was an independent student organisation with a manifesto to represent a particular group of South African students. Similar to NUSAS, SASO attained many achievements as a representative of its chosen group.
The SASCO website reveals that “SASO linked student protests and their activity with community programmes by encouraging students to be involved in community activity. This was done through the establishment of community health centres, advice offices and literacy classes.”
There were many other student organisations like the University Christian Movement (UCM), the African Student’s Association (ASA) and the African Student’s Union of South Africa (ASUSA). However, the latter organisations ASA and ASUSA, according to I Write What I Like by Steve Biko “were divided by ideological loyalties connected with African National Congress (ANC) and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). None of these organisations survived”. It was from this observation then that PDBY has considered the relevance and role of recent national student organisations that are allied with or quasi-structures of national political parties. This was also influenced by the student protests witnessed over the years (Fees Must Fall protests being one of the most noteworthy) where students take to the streets in their different regalia representative of the national political parties that we have in the country. As a result, PDBY spoke to members of the SRC who belonged to politically affiliated student organisations, in their capacity as office members as well as their capacity as members of the said student organisations, to get clarification on the need for politically affiliated student organisations.
According to the UP Societies website, we have at least six politically affiliated student organisations registered at the university, which includes the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (DASO).
According to Hannah Le Roux, a DASO Member and an office holder for Societies in the SRC, the vision of the organisation is “[to] fight for liberal democratic values on campus and the promotion of an Open Opportunity Society. At DASO we seek to address key student issues such as financial aid, the costs of food and drink, freedom of speech and many other issues”. The other political organisations at UP are; Action SA Students, ANCYL Tukkies, EFFSC UP, SASCO UP and Young Communist League UP (YCLSA).
Tarik Lalla, who is a member of multiple student organisations and also an office holder for Sport in the SRC, responded to our question: What political student organisation do you belong to and what is the vision of your student organisation for the students? “I am a member of the South African Students Congress, along with the Young Communist League, and I am currently a member of the BEC of African National Congress Youth League at the University of Pretoria.
Together with the Muslim Students Association, these organisations co-operate under the banner of the Progressive Youth Alliance. We are governed by our respective
constitutions in which we serve the student body at the university.
As a member of SASCO, we address the issues of students through campus work, community work, policy work and finally international work. SASCO is not an affiliated organisation, rather, the ANCYL is affiliated. This means that we are both on the ground hearing the grievances of students through campaign projects such as Right to Learn, and Save The Semester, and carrying forth [the] issues of individual students; but also in the boardrooms addressing issues of policy amongst other activities”.
The members provided multiple insights as to why their organisations are relevant to students by answering the question posed: In your opinion, what do you think is the relevance of having
the country’s political party organisations involved in student matters? In his response, Lalla said: “Student Matters are National Matters. The issues of students do not exist in isolation, nor
does the circumstance of a student exist in isolation. The issues faced by students exist as a consequence of the system that has existed since colonialism. Hence, to have the Mass Democratic
Movement, for example, be involved addresses the issues faced by everyone including students. To address the greater circumstance, and consequently, address the specific issues. Therefore, besides already mentioning the work undertaken by Student Organisation in advocating for students, the relevance of these organisations should not be questioned, but rather supported to advocate further”. This is what Le Roux had to say: ““Before I was elected into the SRC, I thought being part of something greater was an honour. To group together for student issues under a political banner seemed exciting. There comes a time in a young person’s life where they crave political engagement. As a law student, I was all too eager to get involved. The sad reality is that, to run as an independent candidate, you will have to work 100 times harder than a political candidate in order to win a seat. When you run as an independent candidate, you only have yourself to fall back on. When you run for an organisation, people often vote for the organisation and not for you. You just become a political placeholder.”. Jaco van Jaarsveld, the SRC Secretary Officer who ran as an independent candidate, also highlighted the importance of political parties as: “political parties play a key rule in student governance [as] they have a greater reach over different students and the challenges that students are facing. They have different students with different backgrounds and they can easily determine what problems students are facing but also how [many] students are facing the same problems”.
It seems evident that the structure and vision of student organisation has not changed much in the years. Despite historically influential student organisations like SASO that brought about remarkable and generational change in the wellbeing and livelihood of South African students without any political party affiliation or influence, those in student governing positions at universities today find major relevance in having politically affiliated student organisations.
I am a student and before I do anything I ask myself 'would an idiot do that' And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing.