Education as human right-Celebrating 66 years of fighting for rights – SABC News

by Mafule Morelearn Moswane
Human Rights Day in South Africa is historically linked with 21 March 1960, the event of Sharpeville. 66 years ago, a catastrophic event occurred at Sharpeville that would be known as the Sharpeville massacre, pierced the soul of the nation and shattered the spirit of those who believe in peace, love, democracy, and progress.
On that fateful day, 69 people died and 180 more were wounded when apartheid police fired on a peaceful crowd that was protesting the Apartheid Pass laws. This day marked an affirmation by ordinary people, rising in unison to fight for their rights. It became a significant date in our country’s history that will be commemorated as Human Rights Day.
South Africa has made progress from an educational point of view, for example, students coming from poor and working class conditions who qualify for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) study for free in public universities and colleges since former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma made the announcement on the eve of the African National Congress (ANC) conference on the 16th of December 2017.
Jacob Zuma announced fully subsidised free higher education for poor and working-class South African students, starting in 2018. The policy, targeting households earning less than R350 000 annually, aimed to cover tuition, study materials, accommodation, and transport. This means that students who started studying in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from 2018 will not have to pay back the state money for studying with NSFAS like it was the case before the #feesmustfall movement that pushed for the decision by authority to roll out free education.
As active citizens and agents of change, we must reimagine how celebrating this magnificent day. On the 21st of March 2026, professionals and students from the Faculty of Best Advisory (FBA) provided career guidance, bursary information, and related post-secondary information for Grade 12s, 11s, and 10s (FET phase) learners of two neighboring schools in Wattville, Benoni, Ephes Mamkeli Secondary and Etwatwa Secondary School. On the day alone we impacted 1478 learners from both schools of Wattville, Benoni, Gauteng Province of South Africa.
This initiative marked the 408th FBA community engagement since inception in 2012, and 8th FBA community engagement for 2026. We remember the words of Professor Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe when he said that, “education to us means service to Africa,” we brought the words of the great professor to practice by organizing young people and facilitating their access to institutions of higher learning, to ensure that we translate the aspirations of the 1973 Freedom Charter into reality by “opening doors of learning and culture.”
The right to education is enshrined in the constitution of South Africa. We are making a clarion call to all students and professionals to make it a habit to visit their former schools to pass information and connect with their fellow brothers and sisters. The students and professionals will in the process learn valuable interpersonal skills, leadership skills, communication skills, budgeting skills, and organizing skills as they engage in the work. Being involved in community engagement must not be a peripheral matter, it must be a core and fundamental curriculum practice for learners, students, and professionals to engage in practical learning and leadership learning as they lack in the basic and higher education curriculum.
I am convinced, now, more than ever before that indeed we are the ones we have been waiting for. We did not come this far, just to come this far. The story is still unfolding, the best is yet to come, and the best pages of our lives are yet to be written. We need to continue to embody the philosophy and ethos of Botho/Ubuntu, the notion that, “motho ke motho ka batho,” and loosely translated to “I am because you are.” This practice of being there for each other will help the nation, continent, and the world to move forward, upwards, and onwards towards total emancipation. This, in turn, will subsequently lead to peace, progress, and prosperity.
Mafule Morelearn Moswane is a climate finance activist, author, and researcher. He holds a triple-major Master of Science in Geography, Archaeology, and Environmental Sciences from Wits University. Alumnus of Kansas State University (USA) and Wits University (SA). He is a lecturer at University of South Africa (UNISA)
Mafule Morelearn Moswane writes in his personal capacity.
 

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