Dear Momma, I don't mean to put you out like this, but last night when I told you I had finally secured a loan to pay off your bond, you said: "No baba uzothwala ngoba imoto iyabiza, akuwona umtwalo wakho, ngizokhokha. Akuzwakali kahle." ["No, son. It will be too much to pay for, what with your car too. It's not your burden to bear. I will pay. It doesn't feel right"].You probably are not aware, but here in Johannesburg students at Wits University are protesting against high tuition fees.#WitsFeeMustFall, is what I would tell you to search for if you knew how to manoeuvre Twitter.You would choke if you knew how high the fees are, triple what you scrambled to cover my fees for three years at Durban University of Technology.But this is in no way diminishes the struggle you went through to put me through tertiary.An argument I heard this week was, "as black people we need to stop crying about white supremacy and also set up trust funds".I remembered that was the plan, until dad squandered the money on everything - including copious amounts on liquor - but putting my brother and I through school.That put paid to your plans, too. I know because, instead of getting a weekend job, like my peers, and taking care of my own expenses, I put more pressure on you.There's no shortage of misguided observers who charge that black students, like the rest of South African society, suffer from entitlement. Are these students not trying to better their education so they can get better jobs and right the wrongs suffered by their parents - just like you did, mom?Student protests take place all over the world against fees, many in democracies with constitutions nearly as advanced as ours, where they feel it is unreasonable to pay so much for something which is, or rather should be, a right for all.Policemen were seen mistreating students who they referred to as "hooligans", when they were protesting peacefully. Your mom was a maid, and raised you in a time when black people were seen as not needing an education. It appears, if some people had their way, we would still perform menial jobs.Here are thousands of young and bright, but poor, students being driven to lesser institutions.Thanks to your toil I know there is better out there. I may never be able to thank you. When I return to study further, and take out a student loan, I will again appreciate why our fridge was so bare.But I worry about my brother. It's no secret education plays a major part in the labour market, and that graduates like me are more likely to secure jobs.The government and our universities owe it to you, and to every other struggling parent, to make sure we don't tax future parents and students with a worse burden than you endured.I hope one day I can build you a brand new house with the en suite bedroom you envied your friends for having - and a driveway for your future first car.I love you, Queen...