BLACK STUDENT POLITICS, HIGHER EDUCATION AND APARTHEID FROM SASO TO SANSCO, 1968-1990 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za BLACK STUDENT POLITICS, HIGHER EDUCATION AND APARTHEID FROM SASO TO SANSCO, 1968-1990 M. SALEEM BADAT Human Sciences Research Council Pretoria 1999 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za # Human Sciences Research Council, 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 0-7969-1896-1 HSRC Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Badat M. Saleem Black student politics, higher education and apartheid : from SASO to SANSCO, 1968-1999 / M. Saleem Badat.–1999. 402p. – 115 x 210 mm Bibliography references ISBN 0-7969-7969-1896-1 Cover design: Glenn Basson Layout and design: Susan Smith Published by: HSRC Publishers Private Bag X41 Pretoria 0001 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za For Shireen, Hussein and Faizal and in memory of Harold Wolpe: mentor, colleague, comrade and friend Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za I n both scholarly and popular literature, black students in South Africa have tended to be treated in two ways. In accounts of educational conditions they have frequently been characterised simply as victims of apartheid. In writings on political opposition to apartheid, although their campaigns and activities, and their roles as catalysts and detonators of educational and political struggles have been noted frequently, these have seldom been analysed. Few scholars have shown an interest in analysing either the remarkable continuity of student activism and militancy over almost two decades, or the historical development, ideological and political character, role, contribution and significance of the organisations to which black students belonged. The book aims to rectify this dearth of analysis by examining two black higher education organisations that span the period 1968 to 1990. One is the South African National Students’ Congress (SANSCO), which was previously called the Azanian Students’ Organisation (AZASO). The other is the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO), popularly associated with the person of Steve Biko and Black Consciousness. I analyse the ideological and political orientations and internal organisational features of SASO and SANSCO and their intellectual, political and social determinants. I also analyse their role in the educational, political and other spheres and the factors that shaped their activities. Finally, I assess their salient contributions to the popular struggle against apartheid education and race, class and gender oppression and the extent to which and ways their activities reproduced and/or undermined and/or transformed apartheid and capitalist social relations, institutions and practices. To these ends I draw on recent social movement theory and the international literature on student politics. I also emphasise the need to Preface Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za analyse SASO and SANSCO in relation to the distinct historical conditions under which they operated, and argue that the character and significance of either organisation cannot be read simply from an examination of their ideological and political dispositions and member- ship. An analysis of their practices and effect on the terrain in which they moved is also required. My essential argument is that SASO and SANSCO were revolutionary national student political organisations that constituted black students as an organised social force within the national liberation movement, functioned as catalysts of collective action and schools of political formation, and contributed to the erosion of the apartheid social order, as well as to social transformation in South Africa. Black students were not just victims of apartheid but were also thinkers, conscious actors and historical agents. In the face of an authoritarian political order and intense repression, they displayed bravery and an indomitable spirit of courage and defiance, activated anti-apartheid opposition, and contributed immensely to the struggle for national liberation and transformation of education. Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za I t is a pleasure to acknowledge gratefully all those who made this book possible. My partner, Shireen, and my two boys, Hussein and Faizal, have over many years borne with tremendous patience the demands made by research and writing on my time and energy. I am immensely thankful for the sacrifices they have made, their deep loyalty and their love. Dr Anne Akeroyd provided invaluable support and guidance during my stays in York, England. At different points, I also received helpful comments from Elaine Unterhalter, Harold Wolpe and Philip Altbach. I am especially indebted to Harold Wolpe for his pivotal contribution to my intellectual development and for my commitment to critical scholarship. My close friends Yusuf, Sigamoney and Cathy, other friends, and various colleagues at the University of the Western Cape provided much encouragement and I thank them all for their wonderful friendship and support. Various people assisted with research materials and facilitated my work. Adam Small made available an impressive collection of SASO documents. Librarians at the universities of Cape Town, the Western Cape, Boston, London and York provided much courteous assistance. Numerous ex-SANSCO activists generously made time available for interviews. My partner, Shireen, spent many backbreaking hours transcribing the interviews with her normal efficiency. Finally, the Sociology Department at the University of York provided an office and facilities, which contributed enormously to my productivity. Finally, I thank my parents, parents-in-law, and brothers and sisters for their love, friendship, and various kinds of support. Acknowledgements Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za AC Annual Congress ANC African National Congress ANCYL African National Congress Youth League ASA African Students’ Association ASUSA African Students’ Union of South Africa AUT Association of University Teachers AZAPO Azanian Peoples’ Organisation AZASM Azanian Students’ Movement BC Black Consciousness BCM Black Consciousness Movement BCP Black Community Programmes BPC Black Peoples’ Convention BSM Black Students’ Manifesto BSS Black Students’ Society BWP Black Workers’ Project CATE College of Advanced Technical Education CI Christian Institute CIIR Catholic Institute of International Relations COSAS Congress of South African Students COSATU Congress of South African Trade Unions CST Colonialism of a Special Type DET Department of Education and Training EC Education Charter ECC Education Charter Campaign FOSATU Federation of South African Trade Unions FUS Free University Scheme GSC General Students’ Council GST General Sales Tax IC Interim Committee JMC Joint Management Committee MDM Mass Democratic Movement MEDUNSA Medical University of Southern Africa MK Mkhonto we Sizwe NEC National Executive Committee NECC National Education Crisis Committee NEUSA National Education Union of South Africa Abbreviations used in the Text Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za NIC Natal Indian Congress NP National Party NSMS National Security Management System NUSAS National Union of South African Students OFS Orange Free State PAC Pan Africanist Congress PROBEAT Promotion of Black Educational Advancement Trust RAU Rand Afrikaans University ROAPE Review of African Political Economy RSA Republic of South Africa SAAWU South African Allied Workers Union SACOS South African Council on Sport SACP South African Communist Party SAIRR South African Institute of Race Relations SANSCO South African National Students’ Congress SAS South African Statistics SASCO South African Students’ Congress SASM South African Students’ Movement SASO South African Students’ Organisation SASPU South African Students’ Press Union SCM Students’ Christian Movement SOYA Students of Young Azania SPM South African Students’ Organisation Policy Manifesto SRC Students’ Representative Council SSC State Security Council UCM University Christian Movement UCT University of Cape Town UDF United Democratic Front UDUSA Union of Democratic University Staff Associations UDW University of Durban-Westville UF Urban Foundation UFH University of Fort Hare UN University of Natal UNIN University of the North UNISA University of South Africa UNITRA University of Transkei UNIZUL University of Zululand UNMS University of Natal Medical School UOFS University of the Orange Free State UPE University of Port Elizabeth UPRE University of Pretoria UPS University of Potchefstroom US University of Stellenbosch UWC University of Western Cape Wits University of Witwatersrand WUS World University Service Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za [...]... some student organisations, for example the student representative councils (SRCs) at black higher education institutions, have automatically incorporated all registered students A large variety of student organisations have existed at black higher education institutions The majority has been specific to particular institutions, but some have existed as regional or national organisations Prominent black. .. significance The term student body denotes the collective of individuals who are engaged in academic study and vocational education and training at a particular higher educational institution While each higher education institution has its own specific student body, the totality of individuals registered at all the higher education institutions collectively constitute the general student body The student body... addition, I examine higher education, focusing on the different institutions attended by black students, their location and organisation, relations with the state and corporate capital, student enrolments, and the conditions under which students lived and studied The object is to pinpoint those features of the structure and organisation of the higher education sphere that conditioned student mobilisation,... campaigns and activities of black secondary and higher education students and their militancy and role as catalysts and detonators of antiapartheid political struggles has been noted frequently Yet – despite massive and continuous social conflict around education, the remarkable continuity of student activism and militancy over more than two decades, the persistence of national student organisations through... national higher education student organisations, despite their names, have been the University Christian Movement, the Azanian Students’ Movement and, of course, SASO and SANSCO The terms and conditions under which organisations have been allowed to operate has, however, frequently been the object of conflict and contestation between students and the authorities of higher education institutions The term student. .. of students and student organisations may extend beyond the educational arena and social relations in education to social relations in the political sphere This means that the form and content of student struggles may be mediated not only by educational apparatuses but also by the apparatuses of the political sphere Student organisation, movement and body Despite its virtues, the literature on student. .. is primarily devoted to an analysis of SASO Chapter 2 describes and analyses the particular conditions within society and higher education that confronted black students and SASO, and which constituted the terrain on which it had to move Apart from a brief sketch of black higher education prior to 1960, the focus is on the period from the banning and exile of the liberation movements in 1960 to the... Character, Role and Significance of 19 SASO and SANSCO: A Conceptual Framework PART ONE ‘ Black man, you are on your own’’: The South African Students’Organisation, 1968 to 1977 2 From Crisis to Stability to Crisis: The Apartheid Social 47 Order and Black Higher Education, 1960 to 1976-1977 3 SASO: The Ideology and Politics of Black Consciousness 77 4 ‘‘SASO on the Attack’’: Organisation, Mobilisation and 105... anti -apartheid organisations in South Africa by examining two black higher education organisations that span over two decades between 1968 and 1990 One is the South African National Students’ Congress (SANSCO), which between 1979 and 1986 went by the name of the Azanian Student ’ Organisation (AZASO).1 Established in 1979 and the largest and most influential of the national organisations representing black. .. relationship between a student organisation and the student movement is of some concern, so is that between a student organisation and the student body The student body constitutes a student organisation and is the source of potential members, supporters and sympathisers, as well as antagonists Moreover, its size, social composition, nature and so on are bound to condition the activities of a student organisation . Azanian Students’ Movement BC Black Consciousness BCM Black Consciousness Movement BCP Black Community Programmes BPC Black Peoples’ Convention BSM Black Students’. www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za BLACK STUDENT POLITICS, HIGHER EDUCATION AND APARTHEID FROM SASO TO SANSCO, 1968-1990 M. SALEEM BADAT Human