The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has introduced a Private Member's Bill in Parliament, aiming to cancel student debt in a bid to make education more accessible to all South Africans, particularly the youth.
The Bill represents a significant intervention in the fight against the growing financial burden of student debt, which has escalated from approximately R11 billion in 2017 to R17 billion in 2024, with an average increase of R2 billion each year. The EFF argues that this national crisis stifles the aspirations of young people and limits their financial freedom and career prospects.
Leigh-Ann Mathys, the EFF’s spokesperson, emphasised the urgency of the situation.
“This year marks 10 years since the students and youth of South Africa took it to the streets and brought the institutions of higher learning to a standstill, making a genuine call for Fees to Fall so that education may not be a privilege enjoyed only by the elite white minority in South Africa to the exclusion of the black poor and working-class majority.”
The EFF has long championed the cause of student debt cancellation, arguing that the country’s neo-liberal policies have exacerbated inequality.
"It is totally unacceptable that this government allows inequality to stubbornly persist as many black youth begin their work lives with enormous sums of debts, whilst others cannot even begin to seek employment opportunities as universities and TVET Colleges withhold their qualifications and certificates as a result of student debt."
The EFF has called for the decommodification of education and for the government to administer free and decolonised education, accessible to the poorest South Africans.
The Bill proposes the cancellation of all student debt and the establishment of a qualifications registrar that would manage the distribution and administration of degrees and certificates.
This would ensure that students, regardless of their debt, can access their qualifications and contribute to the workforce. Mathys stresses that withholding qualifications is not only unjust but counterproductive.
“It is the degree and the certificate which must empower students to seek employment, therefore, to withhold it is not only counterproductive, but also enslaves them in a permanent cycle of debt, economic inactivity, and poverty.”
As the new academic year begins, many students remain unable to register due to unpaid fees, a reality that contradicts the promise of free education, it said.
The EFF insists that the government’s failure to implement this promise leaves many young people in financial distress. Mathys argues that "we must refuse to allow education to be a cause of debt and a financial burden to the youth of South Africa".
The EFF’s Bill seeks to tackle this issue head-on by clearing student debt, releasing all degrees and certificates, and setting up a system for fair qualification distribution. This initiative is crucial for lifting the financial pressure on South African families and providing the youth with the opportunity to fully participate in the economy.
“The call to #CancelAllStudentDebt is not just an academic discussion or debate, it is an urgent call which will alleviate many South African families from financial stress and anxiety and position our country towards a path of economic growth and development,” Mathys said.
The EFF urges South Africans to rally behind this Bill, as it represents not only a solution to student debt but a step towards broader economic justice and equality.
IOL Politics