The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) plans to introduce a private member’s bill in Parliament this year to call for the cancelling of student debt. The party said that the debt is trapping young people in a cycle of unemployment and poverty.
In a statement, the EFF said that many young people are sitting at home unable to find jobs because their degree certificates, which they need to secure employment, are being held by universities due to outstanding debt. The bill is sponsored by Sihle Lonzi, the EFF president of the student command and a Member of Parliament.
The EFF stated that the Bill seeks to clear all student debt and establish a qualifications registrar, a central government body that will take over the distribution and administration of qualifications and certificates, working in collaboration with public institutions in South Africa. Moreover, the Bill calls for the immediate release of all degrees and certificates of students in South Africa, irrespective of their student debt and/or how much they owe tertiary institutions.
“This Bill is a decisive step and intervention towards the decommodification of education, making it accessible to all South Africans, particularly the youth, without overburdening them with huge sums of debt at the beginning of their adult lives,” said the party in a statement.
From 2017 to 2024, national student debt grew from approximately R11 billion to approximately R17 billion, averaging an increase of R2 billion per year. “The student debt bill has reached unsustainable levels, presenting a national crisis that suffocates the aspirations of young people in South Africa and blocks them from achieving their career goals and financial freedom,” the party said.
The EFF, said the statement, has led the call for the cancellation of student debt since its formation and participation in the Parliament of South Africa. “It is totally unacceptable that this government allows inequality to persist, as many black youth begin their working lives burdened with enormous sums of debt, while others are unable to seek employment opportunities because universities and TVET colleges withhold their qualifications and certificates due to outstanding student debt,” said the party.
It said as the new academic year begins, many students will not be able to register to continue their studies in South Africa due to student debt. “The promise of free education in South Africa remains an illusion and distant fantasy for many young people who continue to be misled and lied to by the current government and all its predecessors. Education must empower young people to change their conditions, improve their families, liberate their communities, and contribute meaningfully to the economy of South Africa,” said the statement.
Lonzi stated that the Bill will help many young people who are sitting at home unable to find jobs. “We are going to be pushing very hard for the bill to become law. What we are saying is that all debts must be scrapped. This bill is going to help not just students but many young people who are sitting at home unable to find jobs because their degrees are held by the universities.”
Tumelo Moalosi, the provincial chairperson of South African Students Congress (Sasco) in KwaZulu-Natal, said they do not want to comment specifically on the bill as they have not seen it, but Sasco has been calling for free education for the poor for a long time.