Background
April 1994 saw the installation of a democratic government in
South Africa. Students, through various organisations, played an
essential role in the destruction of Apartheid and in the recent
processes of social and political change in our country. The new
era of post-apartheid South Africa makes different demands on
students. With the many crises facing the tertiary education
sector and the need for students to get involved in social and
political reconstruction, we need to unite students at a national
level. Through collective action, we as students can continue our
role in ensuring that we live in a free and just society. These
have been some of the motivations behind the formation of SAU-
SRC. The South African University Students' Representative
Council was launched at the end of July 1994 at the University
of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
What is SAU-SRC?
* SAU-SRC is a national structure to which the Students
Representative Councils of all universities are affiliated
* The organisation unites many political and cultural backgrounds
because it includes the SRCs of historically white (Afrikaans and
English-speaking) universities as well as those of historically
black universities. Such a diverse grouping of university
students has never united in a single structure.
* SAU-SRC works on the principles of democracy, non-racism and
non-sexism.
* SAU-SRC has a National Executive Committee of eight members and
will largely operate through regional structures, to ensure that
effective communication takes place.
** There can be many positive results of coherent organisation
at a national level. It is the diversity of SAU-SRC, as well as
its representivity, which put it in a strong position to
negotiate changes in the current tertiary education system,
address the various crises facing university students and get
students involved in national social and political change.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims and objectives of SAU-SRC take into account the immense
challenges that the changes in South Africa have placed us with.
They are as follows:
* To unite students at a national level
* To ensure a student voice in the changes of the tertiary
education system and the resolution of the various financial and
other crises of the present period
* To involve students in the processes of social, political and
economic development of our country, specifically supporting the
present Reconstruction and Development Programme.
* To promote the general interests of all students
* To ensure the redress of inequalities in South African society,
particularly within the tertiary education sector
* To build strong, accountable structures of student governance,
and to equip student leaders to be able to represent students at
all levels: academic, political and service-oriented.
* To ensure that our society develops to be fully democratic and
just
* To encourage international co-operation of students.
At the moment SAU-SRC is operating through the University of Cape
Town SRC offices. Any queries relating to the organisation and
any further information about SAU-SRC and its programmes can be
obtained from the Media Officer (Thandi Lewin) or the President
(Elaine Sacco) at the following address:
Students' Representative Council Tel: (021) 650 3537/8/9
Students' Union Fax: (021) 686 6728
University of Cape Town
Rondebosch 7700
Cape Town
South Africa
EMAIL ADDRESS: lwnt...@its.uct.ac.za OR scce...@its.uct.ac.za
We welcome any correspondence from individuals and organisations
both within South Africa and outside the country. Please leave
your contact addresses and numbers and we will get back to you.
issued by SAU-SRC media department.