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Prof Nyasha’s new book challenges the ongoing impact of apartheid in modern South Africa

01 August 2023 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo SUPPLIED

Apartheid Studies, A Manifesto Book Launch — Prof Nyasha Mboti launched his book, Apartheid Studies: A Manifesto, on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus on 25 July 2023.

in a perpetual state of disaster and creating a normalised life, even if it is built on anomalous arrangements, Prof Nyasha Mboti launched his newly published book, Apartheid Studies: A Manifesto, on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus on 25 July 2023.

Prof Mboti is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Communication Science at the University of the Free State and is the pioneer and founder of Apartheid Studies, a new interdisciplinary field of study from the Global South, which utilises the notion of ‘apartheid’ as a paradigm by which to understand the confounding persistence and permanence of harm, oppression, and injustice.

Oppressive systems persist in modern South Africa

Making reference to the pass laws that were a dominant form/tool of oppression and segregation during the country’s apartheid system, he said apartheid created a “paradigm of life where things that aren’t supposed to go on, go on.

Life has to go on even in oppression. People have the capacity to live with harm, and apartheid banks on people’s capacity to go on”.

The daring book posits itself as a first-of-its-kind authoritative study of the phenomenon of apartheid, shedding light on the continuing impact of apartheid decades after its formal abolishment and exploring the idea that while it was intended as a temporary phenomenon, it became deeply ingrained and normalised, persisting in various forms today.

“What apartheid is, is a temporary phenomenon that has become permanent. That is my argument. This book is an attempt to leverage how we live with harm as a way of doing something about it and hopefully putting an end to it. If you can go on one day living in harm and the next, before you know it, four decades of living under Apartheid from day to day have passed. Until we understand it, it persists,” he said.

By asking whether one would queue for a dompas, Prof Mboti challenged the audience to reflect on how oppressive systems persist when normalised, even when inflicting profound harm.

“Would you queue for a dompas? If your answer is yes, then for me, that is an indication that Apartheid persists. Harm persists. Until we understand it, it persists.”

News Archive

Important message to UFS students on NSFAS and financial aid in general

2013-02-01

31 January 2013

Dear Students

There remains some uncertainty as well as misinformation within the student body concerning NSFAS and financial aid in general. This communication is intended to provide the facts on the state of student funding at the University of the Free State (UFS). I hope you find this information helpful and that it would guide you in your decisions as you wait to hear from, or hopefully receive funding from NSFAS or any other source.

Every year the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) determines how much funding is available to fund students at all universities in South Africa; this is determined in part by the student numbers. Universities do not ask for, or determine the DHET allocation and are instructed by government that “NSFAS will ensure that the universities comply with the processes, procedures…for the allocated funds.”
On 14 December 2012 the UFS received notice from the DHET that our total allocation would be R108,331,215.66 and that this amount must be apportioned in the following categories:
General NSFAS Funding R85,174,275.07
Teacher Training R2,291,940.59
Disability Funding R1,265,000.00
Final-Year Programme R19,600,000.00
The UFS received 5 952 applications for NSFAS funding and with the available funding we can only finance up to 3 000 students on the Qwaqwa and Bloemfontein Campuses, provided that those students satisfy the stringent criteria, e.g. the so-called “national means test” determined for all universities in the country. If we funded more students that the available monies allow, the university would be held accountable by the NSFAS Board and the DHET and this would threaten future funding.
Students apply in the previous year and therefore late applications are less likely to receive funding.
Academic merit also counts, therefore students who fail one or more modules are less likely to receive new or ongoing support from NSFAS. The combination of academic standing and financial need are among the important criteria in decision-making on NSFAS funds.
The UFS is one of the few universities with a very efficient record in using every cent made available to support poor students; we are proud of this record. No money is sent back to NSFAS, except small amounts not claimed by students in the disability category. The university is not allowed to shift funds between categories as described in point #2 above.
Allocations are not based on campus, but need.
The UFS sets aside an additional R35,7 million (in 2013) from within its own budget as bursaries so that we can accommodate as many students as possible. We spend every cent of this funding on students.
The UFS also raises millions in bursaries from the private sector to support poor and promising students, though these funds are often linked to the industry granting the money, e.g. Investec for Accounting students and SASOL for Chemistry students. This recruitment of bursaries is a 24/7 commitment of the Marketing Office and the Faculties and Heads of Departments are also active in raising funds from government agencies, parastatals and the private sector for students in their units.
After almost all our 2013 funds were allocated in favour of students, we calculated a shortfall in the NSFAS allocation of approximately R51 million. We are in the process of making an urgent submission to NSFAS to consider this additional allocation, but we cannot guarantee that this plea can or will be met.

Finally, I want all our students to know that the University of the Free State works very hard to raise every cent we can to provide poor students with funding for their studies. Many of my colleagues, including support staff, who do not earn very much, use some of their meagre personal resources to help a student with money for registration or clothing or food. In fact, the No Student Hungry Campaign that raises more than R600,000 by UFS volunteers annually, is another mechanism for trying to assist students who might have money for studies, but not much else.

We do this because we care, and because this is what The Human Project at Kovsies is all about.

I therefore ask for your patience as we continue our labour of raising the funds that enable every deserving student to continue their studies at the University of the Free State.

Should you have any further questions about NSFAS, please leave an email inquiry on choanet@ufs.ac.za or mallettca@ufs.ac.za and we will endeavour to provide you with the information you require.

Sincerely Yours

Jonathan D Jansen
Vice-Chancellor and Rector
University of the Free State

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