Debt or degree? EFF slams plan to blacklist students

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) joined calls opposing the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s (DTIC’s) draft bill amendments on students’ tuition debt.

The department recently published the proposed changes in the Government Gazette, seeking to allow educational institutions to report unpaid student fees to credit bureaus.

The EFF wrote to Tebogo Letsie, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, requesting an urgent joint meeting with the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition.

EFF SLAMS DRAFT BILL

In a statement, EFF Member of Parliament (MP) Sihle Lonzi warned that the future of millions of young people faces a grave threat.

He accused the DTIC of launching a “cruel and devastating attack” on the youth, arguing that the proposed policy would entrench economic exclusion for the majority in South Africa.

“It is no secret that the majority of students struggling to pay university fees come from poor and working-class communities, ravaged by the legacy of apartheid and ongoing structural inequality. This proposed amendment to the law will punish them for being poor by turning their unpaid fees into permanent scars on their credit records,” he said.

The party also claims that the draft regulation is anti-poor and neoliberal. It added that a bad credit score would trap young people in cycles of poverty and exclusion.

STUDENT DEBT RELIEF BILL

This comes after the EFF announced its intention to introduce the Student Debt Relief Bill. Lonzi said the youth deserved an education system that supported and empowered them.

The bill aims to alleviate the financial burden on students by establishing a fund to repay their debt.

Furthermore, it proposes that all students who have met their academic requirements should receive their qualifications, regardless of outstanding debt owed to their institutions of higher learning.