The University of Cape Town on Monday encouraged students to resume their studies‚ and highlighted the consequences of not completing the 2016 academic year. "If the higher education sector does not return to teaching‚ learning and research‚ the consequences for the future of our country will be even worse‚" the institution warned. "We stand to lose a generation of students‚ much as we lost countless students to the protests of 1976." Here are the institution's 8 reasons for #FeesMustFall protesters and students to come to lectures: 1) It is not necessary to disrupt classes in order for management to engage on the issues raised by protesters.2) Students are very directly affected as they may not be able to complete this academic year and will have to extend their time of study with multiple financial and other consequences. Many‚ particularly the vulnerable‚ may simply fall out of the system.3) The hundreds of health science graduates who are scheduled to enter the South African health system in January will be unable to do so‚ which will put an already compromised health system at further risk. In the final analysis‚ the consequences of a longer-term shutdown are real and drastic.4) We will lose the confidence of educational partners‚ donors and funders‚ and potential employers of graduates.5) The financial implications may mean a forced reduction in staff and a collapse of UCT’s contribution to financial aid.6) The collapse of the semester study abroad programmes may become a reality and our ability to attract international scholars and research partners will be diminished.7) Our capacity to do impactful research that benefits communities directly and our ability to continue critical services in communities (some of which involve life-saving interventions) will be lost.8) We face the potential loss of our international accreditations‚ which will have direct consequences for the value of our degrees...