21 JULY 2025
The South African Union of Students notes the recent restructuring within the Department of Higher Education and Training, marked by the conclusion of Minister Nkabane’s tenure and the appointment of Comrade Buti Manamela as the new Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.
We welcome the appointment of Comrade Buti Manamela with a spirit of revolutionary expectation and principled engagement. As a longstanding Deputy Minister in the department and a seasoned leader of the progressive youth and student movement, he brings with him not only institutional memory but also deep political understanding of the structural challenges that continue to define our higher education system. His familiarity with the policy terrain and the lived realities of students places him in a position to act decisively and with urgency.
The sector remains engulfed in multiple interlinked crises. These include the persistent dysfunctionality of NSFAS, deepening inequalities in the resourcing of institutions, the criminalisation of student activism, the slow pace of curriculum transformation, and the overall failure to break from a model of higher education that prioritises market outcomes over social justice. These are not technical glitches but rather the product of a system that has not yet been fundamentally restructured in the interest of the working class and the poor. SAUS is clear that the appointment of a new Minister must signal more than administrative continuity. It must mark a bold and decisive turn towards a transformative agenda that centres the demands of students and repositions education as a public good.
We believe the new Minister must lead the charge in building a system that is decommodified, Afrocentric, democratic and responsive to the developmental needs of the country. We extend our best wishes to Minister Manamela as he assumes this historic responsibility. We trust that his leadership will be characterised by courage, clarity and an unshakeable commitment to the transformation of the higher education sector.
SAUS remains ready to engage in struggle and in dialogue, to partner in progress and to agitate when necessary, all in the name of building a just and equal post-school education system.
For and on behalf of SAUS
Sinqobile Nhlonipho Nxumalo
SAUS Secretary-General
📞 +27 (61) 296-2064