We once more request the society to assist us in our struggles to seek more knowledge out of the existing; to enhance human ability to master nature; preserve the human life and create conditions for survival of such a life.

SASCO’s clarion call to action on the occasion of its 21 anniversary celebration

The South African Students Congress (SASCO) once more want to use the occasion of its 21 anniversary to commit itself to the continuation of the struggle various generations of students have been engaged with for 88 years since the formation of the National Union of South African Students ( NUSAS).

Join us in the struggles to Open University and college gates even wider. To declare that education must not and cannot be regarded as a privilege of a few in society but to reaffirm it as a birth right for all. Let us together say no to financial exclusions of our brothers and sisters who everyday wake up to neither work nor go to school. We appeal for your contribution to the struggle to ensure that access points are not used to exclude students from particular qualifications.

Together let us say no more to preservation of apartheid and English culture in some universities. Be with us in the demand for transformation of universities which want to conserve; through action or inaction the racial divide that we so view as a thing of the past. Let us commit our energies to struggle for better teaching and learning conditions in institutions of higher learning.

Working together we must struggle for transformed institutions which are better equipped. We must also reject the notion that public college sector are second class institutions. Wage a war for better resources of both FETs and previously disadvantaged institutions. Call for more investment in the public education sector. Work with all security forces to ensure that all criminals robbing our people through bogus institutions are put behind bars.

Let us be vigilant to ensure that the new universities are opened in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape as soon as possible. Guard against the universities being used to reproduce inequalities. Fight all reactionary forces who might want to use the universities as propaganda machinery against our revolution; ensure from the beginning that the curricula of these universities are aligned to national developmental imperatives. Let the battle for such a curricula be relentlessly waged across the entire country.

Together let us say yes to academic excellence. Let us put our efforts in ensuring that those who are struggling are being assisted. That we reap sufficient rewards of the investment made on students. We must mobilise all our energies to ensure transformation of our curricula which continues to reproduce the same apartheid type inequalities.

Join us in calling for a fair share of knowledge and experience with the entirety of the human species not just a select few. Our clarion call is: equip our libraries with knowledge from all over the world; subscribe to journals to transmit knowledge from its place of production or reproduction to our network cables. Together let us create platforms for researchers to make the piece of knowledge they are engaged in the production and reproduction of. 

To students of our country; please remember that the desks and chairs we usually sit on are not ours. They belong to the society as a whole; we must make it possible that others share in their use. That we leave the institutions in the good conditions for the effective use of the next generations of students. We must not withhold that right from them. Libraries, computer labs, laboratories and classroom must be left in better conditions than we found them.

Join our commitment in ensuring that we act together in improving both the quality of teaching and learning in basic education. We owe it to the people and to our species. Without a strong schooling system; the post schooling education is bound to fail. We must do all in our power to join hands with all forces who aspire fundamental transformation of our schooling system. Working with COSAS and SADTU will be very important.

We are once more making a call to deal with visibly high levels of inequality in the country. This will require the serious tempering with the structure of our economy. If truth be told: The social ills of our society are largely a mirror reflection of the economic structure of our society. Our clarion call goes to the society to join forces with all and sundry who wish to participate in the struggle for an economy that will benefit all.

In the interest of humanity; we must pledge a portion of our energies to ensuring that we fight corruption and criminality. Rent seeking undermines our efforts of create a better society. Our call goes to the society to fight criminality wherever it rears its ugly head. Both Private sector and government must be held accountable. Everybody, irrespective of their position in society must account for wrong doing.

In institutions of higher learning we must guard against corrupt managers who cripple the entirety of the system to fill their elastic pockets. To all our activists: wage a relentless war against corruption; mobilise the totality of the student population and society at large against corruption. Be vigilant against those who want to use the name of the organisation to collaborate with managers against students for their filthy personal benefit. Fight and defeat corrupt practices in organs of student governance irrespective of who commit them.

Remove from the face of earth the tendency to resist transformation efforts among the leadership. Fight day by day against the propaganda that all is well and that a call for transformation is a call against progress. Isolate both within the movement and outside the tendency to mobilise for the assault on the organisation of the people. Defend your organisation against agent provocateurs who design a shadow of conspiracy to demobilise society from the fundamental basis of our struggles.

Wage a war against counter-revolution. Isolate through our work and inactions those who want to create a rift between the movement and its people. Put aside decisive energy for the defeat of tendencies foreign to our movement. Resist the temptations of a capitalist state. Refuse to be silenced by those who want to take advantage of our intellectual acumen and use it against the interest of the people and to further oppress the poor.

Uproot patriarchy and all its manifestations in our institutions of learning and society at large. Forge links with anti-sexist organisation to remove from a male chauvinist mind a mentality of male superiority. Work with all our female cadres to fight patriarchy and inculcate within the mind of females the mentality that their biological make-up must not prohibit them from achieving.

To our activist: spare no energy in confronting injustice everywhere you meet it. Fight against the tendency to use public institutions to perpetuate inequality and injustice. Fight for equal opportunity to contribute to the well-being of the nation. Fight against the use of state security to deal with students who are raising their genuine issues as well as masses of our people when raising their frustrations. Accept not the illogical argument that our people are unruly and like instability.

Be with the people. Articulate their views whenever you find space to. Raise them irrespective of the hostility from remnants of apartheid. Give no mercy to those who want to abuse their position of responsibilities given by the movement to define themselves against the interest of masses of our people. Reject the logic that our people must suspend the struggle and only express their wishes through a vote.

To our deployed cadres: refuse to be wisdom unto yourselves. Respect the wisdom of the masses and collective wisdom of the organisation. Only make concessions as a tactical matter. Never abandon the broader interest of our constituency for the interest of tactical concessions. Tactical decisions must not cloud the strategic objectives of the organisation. Fight a tendency to hold us back on the basis of the tactical decisions. Account to the masses and take further mandate. Refuse to be on the way for transformation as you attempt to prove that you are working.

To our comrades: Forget not the internationalist character of the organisation. Wage war against imperialism and all new forms of colonialism. Rejoice not in the misery of others but fight side by side with all international organisations which want to create a better world. Send a message to the oppressor that it is not only those within the boundaries of her country who feel the pain. Send a bold message against all forms of subjugation

Be involved in the day to day struggle of our people. Live up to the working class biased character of the organisation. Work together with the poor to improve their living conditions and those of their off-springs. Say once more: “we are members of the society before we are students”

Serious war must be waged in the arena of policy formulation. Increase the confidence of the people on our capacity to articulate and formulate alternative policy for societal development.

To all our comrades; the central message is defend the interest of students; those of the poor and all who were left vulnerable by the system of oppression. All of us must renew our commitment to our people. We must remind ourselves of the pledge we made to our people.

As we mark 21 years of the South African Students Congress and 88 years of the Student movement in the country we should work to create a better future today. Tomorrow is too late. Take responsibility of the revolution. The slopes might be steep; the weather might be a bit chilly; but under all conditions we must always be determined to overcome.

Now more than ever we must say: “Everything for the revolution and nothing against it!!!!”

Aluta continua!!!!

Hasta la Victoria siempre!!!