Dear Asanda Dlamini
I write this email to share my two cents worth of my options to your thought-provoking T-vets Must Rise piece published by WordPress.under LaNkosi Writes.
Technical Vocational Education and Training (T-vets) colleges under the Department of Higher Education and Training is a reflection of poor governance, corruption, negligence and lack of political will by those who are the the echelons of state power. It is a long forgotten sector that the government fails to prioritizes due to the lack of understanding of the sector’s role as as a tool for societal reconstruction post the 1994 democratic dispensation. The government fails to understand that T-vets are not substitutes for universities, but they have a distinct role that they play in South African job market and skills development contributes in the South African economy . It is of paramount importance that we build a skilled labor force as a developmental state so that we don’t outsource foreign expects for projects and infrastructure development; the failed infrastructure of Madibeng and Kusile power stations, the collapsed Murray and Roberts Bridge, the foreign designed Prasa trains which could not fit on our railways, the dilapidated 2010 World Cup stadiums etc. All the the aforementioned are examples are a result of the poor state capacity that lacks the political will to prioritize the role of T-vet colleges.
The differences that exists in the higher education sector are a direct reflection of the inequalities that exists in the South African world of the haves and the have nots. The student movement should resurface the clarion call for a single coordinated quality education system between the private and the public institutions of higher learning so that there the can be an equal distribution of resources. The government financial injection into the higher education sector has also proven to us that money is not the panacea to the problems faced by the sector but also corrupt and incompetent leaders who don’t know what they are doing.
The rape perpetrators and sexual offenders that are seated comfortably in positions of power and influences in T-vets colleges should be met head-on by the student movement, civil movements and various organized labour and political formations. Furthermore, a relentless war should be waged against the protectors of these sex predictors that are both in governance structures and in the SAPS.
I think that there are shared struggles which exist in various forms should be met by one strong fighting force; university students, t-vets college students and workers should merge forces and fight against the unjust system and anyone who stands in their way towards achieving a common goal. At the end of the day, there is no #FeesMustFall and #TvetsMustRise #WorkersMustRise but there is only one class struggle. The unity of the student movement, civil movements and the organized labour formations is paramount towards achieving peoples Free and Quality Education for people’s power and building a United, Non-racial, Non-sexist, Democratic a Prosperous society.
I hope that you find my comments in order and that you continue to share your thoughts with us.
Regards Your Loyal Reader
Vusumuzi Mchunu
La Nkosi Writes 