The Spark

In the context of assemblies, and people’s many political ambitions to occupy this and that position, genuine policy questions which have the potential of advancing the struggle for economic freedom and free education and changing the material well being of students and workers lose their substance. They are reduced to fatuous sloganeering and empty rhetoric in an equally fatuous attempt to mobilize support for their political ambitions. The question of political education is one such policy which has been a victim of this fatuous political program. All those who wish to mobilize political support passionately chant politicaleducation this and political education that,without a clear understanding of what this political education is in relation to its form, content, and character, and how it is supposed to be delivered. This piece therefore seeks to briefly ponder on the question of political education, through providing some critique on our collective understanding of political educat...

In the previous article I discussed the State of Student Parliaments and their role in the development of student activism. This article is inspired by my election into the University of Fort Hare Institutional Students' Parliament Secretariat, and seeks to delve deeper on the role of Student Parliaments in general. I will discuss on why we should deepen the role of Student Parliaments, how can we deepen the role of Student Parliaments, and what is to be done to deepen their role in Student activist spaces. Why we should deepen the role of SPs? As discussed previously, Student Parliaments are spaces of Student Activism. They are a space where all societies, SRC & its sub-structures, and political organisations gather under one roof to shape and define the policies that govern students. This is the hotspot for activism through legislative and policymaking means. We have discovered that this space is also a space for political jockeying and position mongering due to the degenerat...