BLACK STUDENTS/GRADUATES YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!

( Picture taken from Twitter)

Black students/graduates you're on your own!! 
(Written by Modibe Modiba)


This is a picture of a young black gentleman from the University Of Johannesburg I recently came across on twitter. I couldn't help but think that in-fact, this is what a majority of black students from all corners of the country go through on a yearly basis.

One of the biggest problems facing young black South Africans after 21 years of democracy apart from unemployment, is the struggle of funding your higher learning education which is well and alive in a lot of black homes.

With the ever increasing university application fees which is the start of a long daunting process for a lot of students, most of our brothers and sisters can't even afford the high application fee never mind the ever increasing tuition fees, textbooks, accommodation and if one lives at home, transport fare which would also be a mission for most black students and their families.

"Free education in our lifetime" shouldn't be a mere political slogan used by our uneducated leaders( in some cases) to get votes but should start being a reality. Every year we see black students especially,  dropping out of our universities because they simply cannot afford it.

In some cases, students will apply for financial assistance (NSFAS) receive assistance for that year and when the students return the following year for assistance the already failing NSFAS will claim that it's run out of money.

One thing our leaders must understand is that the more black students drop out and sit at home due to financial problems, the greater our socio-economic problems will become as country.

Our untransformed private sector should also come to the party and should not leave this to the government only, because by having students sitting at home doing nothing, you are actually creating a generation of angry black students who will then add to the increasing list of peoples dependent on government grants because they're unskilled as well as unemployed and who will then have children who will ALSO depend on government grants.

 Sooner or later this generation of angry black students will start taking part in criminal activities just to make ends meet and the day we wake up as a country, this will be a cycle in the black society.

NSFAS has certainly failed the students, especially black students who every year queue in long lines in the corridors of higher learning institutions seeking financial assistance just for it to be given to undeserving fraudulent students and due to money lost to incompetent corrupt officials within the scheme.

If no radical solutions are found urgently to solve this problem faced by many black students as well as problems faced by thousands of graduates sitting at home who can't find employment, we will certainly find ourselves with a major national crisis which will then become out of hand as well as lead to revolt and then a revolution which will turn very messy.

We are always reminded by our leaders that the only way out for the black child is through education, but if such problems persists for a majority of black students, is there really any hope for the black child? Certainly not!

Steve Biko once said, "black man you are on your own", and after so many years it's now become, black students and graduates you're certainly on your own.