On Contradictions at UFH: Who is the foe of the students?
The first thing we need to
understand when we delve into this matter is the keyword contradiction. A
contradiction according to the Oxford dictionary is a combination of
statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another. It further goes
on to refer to contradiction being a situation in which inconsistent elements
are present. In our case at the University of Fort Hare we can clearly see that
we have an environment which is riddled with contradictions which have become
an inherent part of the process. The contradictions vary, however, in this
Marxist-Leninist analysis we will deal with the primary contradiction as it
sets the tone for the secondary contradictions.
Historical Development of UFH
The University of Fort Hare is an
institution of higher learning which was founded in the year 1916 and was then
known as the South African Native College. It was initially attached to the
University of South Africa before it was associated to Rhodes University and
renamed University College of Fort Hare. In 1953, it became part of the Bantu
Education system, and became one of the many ‘bush’ colleges that would produce
revolutionary stalwarts like the late General Secretary of the South African
Communist Party, Chris Hani (he was eventually expelled and graduated at Rhodes
University). The University of Fort Hare was in all its intent and purposes
created to create a black elite which would be the spreader of pro-bourgeois
ideas. James Stewart, a missionary principal of the Lovedale Missionary
Institute had suggested this development in the year 1878, however, it was only
realised 38 years later.
In 1916, the Colonial Settler
population, which at this time was dominated by the British, had fully
subordinated the African masses, and had successfully suppressed the Indian
settler population. They had started legislatively setting the tone for a
capitalist development which would intensify the proletarianization of the
African majority, and the descendants of the Indian & Chinese indentured
labourers and settlers. The University of Fort Hare makes its appearance in the
middle of World War I, and at first glance is seen as a tool to continue the
‘civilisation’ of the African masses. However, what we can see is an
institution which was set up to strengthen the hegemony of the capitalist class
which was embodied by the Colonial Settler population. The Christian principles
of subsidising the fees, and creation of bursary schemes and scholarships were
used to attract a large pool of African students. This large pool would then
become the new elite which would be the epitome of ‘civilisation’ among the
African masses.
The education was Western-style
and emphasised British superiority, especially after the victory of World War
I. This character remained until the dawn of the apartheid regime which had one
sole aim, and that is to turn it into a ‘black university’. The aim of turning
it into a ‘black university’ was not to enforce a sense of pride, but rather
isolate and alienate African people from the rest of the oppressed ethnicities.
The anti-thesis of this development is that every time the State tried to turn
the University of Fort Hare into a tool to advance its class interests, which
are elitist and serve the capitalist class, the student populace has always
resisted such advances. As a result, the University has always produced
revolutionary personalities who would go on to shape and shift the
revolutionary movement against apartheid & capitalism. This allowed the revolutionary movement to perform its
necessary tasks. The continued clash of these forces throughout the period of
British colonialism, and Apartheid ultimately led to the 1994 breakthrough
moment of temporary rest due to ‘Rainbow Nation’ euphoria.
The ‘Rainbow Nation’ euphoria would
reduce the level of strikes to mainly operational issues and the
transformational aspect was somewhat shoved to the backseat. This is
understandable considering the fact that the ANC and its principals were enjoying
popularity, and everything they touched seemed to turn into gold in the eyes of
the masses. The ANC-led government post-1994 managed to hold back the anger of
the students even though strikes would erupt particularly because of the
deformed character and pattern of development during its lifetime. This
deformed character was further intensified by the addition of the two campuses
in semi-urban and urban areas (Bhisho and the East London Campus). These
additions brought the reality of combined and uneven development to the
institution. Combined and uneven development became manifest in its most vile
character particularly because the issues now differed based on subjective
factors, even though the objective reality remained.
The #FeesMustFall epoch was a
defining epoch in the Higher Education sector, particularly at the University
of Fort Hare. The contradiction of commodified education which was no longer as
subsidised as the pre-Bantu Education era made the situation unbearable. To
paraphrase Lenin’s words, the rulers couldn’t rule the old way and the subjects
couldn’t live the same way. The activism sprung forth due to the intensified
contradictions which led to transformational issues taking the primary role,
while operational issues took the secondary role even though the two were
interlinked to the other. This turn was accompanied by a change in management
which coincided with the defeat of the #FeesMustFall. After the #FeesMustFall era
of 2015 – 2017, the crisis of GBV became so overt that a GBV policy had to be
enacted in 2019 due to student pressure. This once again shows how the students
have been the motive force for change throughout the history of the
institution.
After the #RegisterOneRegisterAll
strike in the beginning of the 2020 academic which was stopped by the COVID-19
pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, we saw strikes to effect transformational
and operational change shift to online platforms and gain some relative
strength. It is a pity that after the initial show of strength, the online
strike movement has not only ebbed but is at its lowest point in terms of
driving awareness and mobilising students. What exists at present is
unorganised complaints which are subject to opportunistic vultures who are
preying on the dying body of the student.
Who
is then the enemy?
It is then based on this
historical development whereby we can clearly see that the historical enemy of
the students at the University of Fort Hare or any other university for that
matter is the State. However, we must remember universities are the cultural expression of the State. Therefore, the State indirectly uses the management as its instrument to carry out the class
interests of the dominant class. The dominant class in this context is a social
group with one common interest, and that is to maximise profits at all costs.
This dominant class is known as the Bourgeoisie, or the Capitalist class which
owns the means of producing the necessary goods and services we need to
reproduce and live as humans. This dominant class is the first to demand for
police officers to use force to suppress student strikes. The management before
it can call the police exhausts the use of private security. The owners of
these hired armed men accumulate a profit for the continued protection of
‘public property’ which ultimately benefits the owners of the means of
production more than they do those who are subjected to use these properties. As
revolutionaries we should stand against any damage to property whether it
belongs to all or to the capitalist. Our aim in our struggle against capitalism
is not to destroy the property of capitalists, but to expropriate it and place
it under democratic workers’ control and management. We can not subject
ourselves into owning the ashes of property that could be used to eliminate the
poverty, inequality, and exploitation that exists in our society!
The Capitalist class uses the media to put the
management under pressure. The management due to this pressure and its purpose
have no option but to manage the contradictions and these antagonistic clashes
through the deployment of force. The violence of the State, and ultimately the Capitalist
class is not released because students are burning property that can help them,
but mainly because the burning of this property is an attack and a declaration
of war to the Capitalist class, and its principal agent, the State. The State
is led by the party which wins elections, and has no problem bowing down to the
demands of the Capitalist class. From this we can see that the response of the
State is the response of the Capitalist class against an attack on its interests,
the management becomes the implementing agent, and therefore assumes and
embodies this contradiction particularly because it is the ambassador of the
State, and ultimately the Capitalist class. The management becomes a primary
contradiction not because they are the primary source of the other
contradictions that grip the University, but because they embody the interests
of those that benefit from these contradictions who are in turn the real source
of these contradictions, the State and ultimately the Capitalist class. The
workers also suffer in this process particularly because of this, due to how
these contradictions lead to staff shortages, outsourcing which leads to
exploitative wages being paid to low-level workers, the emphasis of quantity
leads to lower level of quality of work, and corruption. The management does
all it can to maintain order, produce outcomes, and continue to provide the raw
resources which make a profit for the Capitalist class, human labour, and
creativity.
It is through open confrontation
with the management whereby students can begin the transformative process of
turning the University of Fort Hare into a bastion of excellence, and a
producer of high-level graduates that will contribute decisively to the
development of the productive forces, and ultimately society. The confrontation
will trigger a greater response by the State, which must trigger a counter
response of introducing the Working class into the revolutionary arena. When
the workers are involved, the confrontation will transform into a broader class
confrontation which will either have revolutionary or reactionary outcomes.
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