Description
ABSTRACT
Purpose: In the wake of an upsurge in decoloniality awareness, the Fees Must Fall movement was a seminal moment in decolonising university education in South Africa. This study explores the impact and decolonial significance of the #FeesMustFall movement in South Africa, with a focus on its advocacy for fee-free university education. The #FeesMustFall movement emerged in 2015 as a powerful tool that mobilised South African university students and activists to demand the abolition of tuition fees, an effort they viewed as essential to dismantling the lingering colonial structures and vestiges in the country’s education system.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employs a qualitative methodology to understand how #FeesMustFall catalysed a national discourse around decoloniality. The study utilises decolonial theory as its theoretical framework.
Findings: The study indicates that the movement successfully generated widespread awareness and government response, leading to incremental policy shifts towards fee-free education for students from low-income backgrounds. It also proved to be instrumental in shifting the dialogue around higher education in South Africa, reframing access to education as an issue of justice and part of a broader decolonial agenda.
Originality/Value: The study reveals that the movement was not merely a campaign for affordable education but also a call for restructuring the education system to be inclusive and reflective
of African epistemologies, values, and histories. This study may contribute to the understanding of social movements as catalysts for decolonial change.
Keywords: Fee-Free University, Education, South Africa, The Fees Must Fall, Decolonial
