Down with Direct Payment, Forward to Free Education! by Lindokuhle Mponco

 At the beginning of 2023, we were ambushed with a decision that was adopted in the dingy corners of the sector of Higher Education by SAUS (South African Union of Students) and NSFAS. This decision was sanctified and blessed by the Godfather of the sector, Dr. Bonginkosi Emmanuel 'Blade' Nzimande. The decision is an opportunistic decision given the fact that the mechanism of direct payment is more expensive than the previous mechanism. The reason why this decision can be categorized as opportunistic is due to the timing and the implementation of the decision. 

In student spaces, the question of direct payment has been one which has gripped the space after the #FeesMustFall was neutralized by the 'free education' announcement of the former President, Monsieur Jacob Zuma. This announcement created an opening for the neoliberal wing of government to implement policies that would increasingly centralize the disbursement process. This was also accompanied by reports of a general collapse in the management of the system which has led us to this point we find ourselves in. The year 2023 has brought to our attention these lingering issues caused by the opportunistic announcement by Jacob Zuma. The announcement without modalities is a typical example of how the neoliberal regime of the ANC normally announces progressive solutions to the contradictions of society without a plan only to reverse such a plan due to 'impracticality'. As students of Marxism-Leninism, we have learned to go beyond what the naked eye can see, and we apply the tools of analysis (Dialectical & Historical Materialism) which help us see things for what they are. These announcements are just mere announcements that are meant to appease the masses while the neoliberals prepare for a vicious counterattack against the Working Class and the Peasantry. 

The current crop of students has no memory of the Heher Commission; thus, it is the duty of us revolutionary Marxists to remind the masses of our people. The Heher Commission was appointed by the former President, Mr. Jacob Zuma. This commission was tasked with investigating the practicality of tuition fee-free education. The commission resolved that it was impractical; thus, banks must step in and fund students directly through loans that will be paid back when a student is employed and earns a certain amount of money. The threshold was to be decided by the Department of Higher Education; however, a militant SAUS rejected that recommendation. SAUS led a shutdown which was supported by many SRCs and Student Political Organizations, which ultimately led to the opportunistic announcement by Mr. Jacob Zuma. The opportunistic announcement laid the groundwork for the Neoliberal fightback which has manifested itself in the form of direct payment. The principle of direct payment is not wrong; however, it has been used as a gap by the upstart capitalists who are endorsed by the moribund ANC. As Lenin once said, "Capitalists are no more capable of self-sacrifice than a man is capable of lifting himself up by his own bootstraps." In a nutshell, the capitalist retreat was not a genuine retreat but one which was tactically made to open the gap for further capitalist penetration.

Norraco and eZaga are the hallmarks of this selfish and greedy arrangement. Norraco is not even older than two years while eZaga is only six months old. This goes to show that the companies which have been awarded these lucrative tenders are not even capacitated enough to run this process. This goes to show the moribund nature of capitalism in South Africa. It has gotten to the level of crony capitalists accumulating wealth by ripping students off. The second characteristic of these companies is that they charge hefty fees. This stands in contrast to the Banks Act of 1990. They have entered the realm of loan sharks without exiting the realm of established banks. This was justified by some SAUS leaders as an overthrow of White Monopoly Capital. The ABCs of Marxism tell us that you cannot replace one fraction of capital with another in the name of overthrowing capital. In fact, that does not even qualify as a negation but qualifies as a multiplication. Lenin warned us in his classic work, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism that in its moribund state, capital doesn't exist in perfect and free competition. It becomes a monopolistic system that divides markets into different pieces owned by different companies. What has happened with the direct payment outsourcing process has followed that logic. Four companies will be responsible for disbursing allowances directly to students. They will get fees from students' allowances while getting money from the State for the contract of doing this job. This is a clear example of how capitalism works, and how fintech and financial services companies operate in this era of Monopoly Capital known as the imperialist stage of development.

Our SRCs tried to fight back; however, the lack of revolutionary backbone saw some cave in while others were bought off. The dominance of the EFFSC in the sector was found wanting due to a lack of central, provincial, and branch coordination. Branches should have stubbornly mandated their deployees to reject to the point of mass demonstration, Provinces should have ensured that the party line is maintained, while the Central structure should have coordinated a national response to what is a blatant neoliberal attack on the student populace across the country. It is the duty of the readers of The Spark to go out and canvass for a national shutdown. It is the duty of the readers of The Spark to go out to the student leadership of their various branches and call for them to uphold the revolutionary principles that the EFFSC upholds. We also need to take a grassroots approach and use branches as a medium and basic organizing tool for the masses. The EFFSC branches must consciously seek out alliances with revolutionary tendencies within the student populace with the intention of forming a United Front against NSFAS. The slogan of #BringBackIntelli & #BringBackeFundi is outdated and must be thrown in the dustbin of history. The new slogan must be #FreeEducationNow. To prioritize the fight for free education is to prioritize the fight for socialism. A Marxist worth his/her own salt will know that free education cannot be practically attained within the confines of the bourgeois capitalist system, especially when it follows a neoliberal path.

Our fight against Direct Payment is a fight against Neoliberalism and must be understood within that context. The fight against NSFAS must not be mistaken as a fight against fee-free education but must be understood as a fight against commodified education. NSFAS represents the commodified nature of our education as it seeks to remind us that those without money cannot study or access the spaces of Higher Learning. It is on this premise that we raise the clarion call for #FreeEducationNow because we know that where there is free education there is no NSFAS and there is definitely no Direct Payment but a well-resourced education system that is freed from the capitalist trappings of commodification and commercialization. We know that where there is free education capitalism doesn't exist and if it does, it is subject to the dictates of the State which is run directly by the Workers and the Peasants.