Concept of justified violence survives with our complicity

21 January 2016 - 02:29 By The Times Editorial

The extent of the damage to our universities as a result of the #FeesMustFall protests was yesterday quantified - and the figure is alarming. To lose R150-million at a time when we need every penny to contribute to affordable quality education should worry us.Students have every right to protest and a constitutional right to take to the streets, but we need to consider the costs to the infrastructure of violent protest.This week Gauteng university vice-chancellors spoke of their concerns about the continuing violence at our institutions of higher learning and said that, if they dispensed with private security services, we run the risk of losing infrastructure, such as libraries, that is essential to a university's functioning.Although Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande did not elaborate on the R150-million price tag for damage caused by protesters, state-owned insurance company Sasria SOC has received nearly 100 claims, to a total value of over R22-million, related to the student protests.We should not be afraid to ask questions when those in the front lines of protest exceed their mandate and begin to destroy the foundations of our institutions.This culture of violence should have been countered long ago through education and legislation, but because it suited our political flavour we turned a blind eye to its influence.As long as adults see nothing wrong in burning down a clinic while protesting about a road, or burning a school in protest at a municipal demarcation, we should expect our students to follow in our footsteps.Politicians and civil society must cultivate respect for public infrastructure.Every year we spend billions building and maintaining public infrastructure but are unable to protect it from the people's anger.While we scramble for more funding to achieve an adequate education for all, we call on the students to protect what they have...

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