Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma calls on students to take responsibility for SA’S future

by | Apr 8, 2017

“We should be trained not only as job seekers but also to have a mind-set that says, ‘I should be a job creator’,” – Dlamini-Zuma

The former head of the African Union, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has called on students to take responsibility for their futures as well as the future of the country, at the annual Human Rights Dialogue hosted at Wits University on Wednesday, March 5.

The discussion at the event centred on social and economic transformation in post-Apartheid South Africa and had the former Chairperson, suggesting that students need to change their approach to their futures.

“We should be trained not only as job seekers but also to have a mind-set that says, ‘I should be a job creator’,” said Dlamini-Zuma, one of the people tipped to be the South Africa’s president in 2019.

Dlamini-Zuma also criticised the government for not doing enough to assist students who cannot afford an education. “Those that can’t pay should be assisted. And that’s the way in my view that we will begin to address the inequalities,” she said.

Candice Chirwa, BA Honours, International Relations, One of the students who attended the dialogue. Chirwa believes that transforming education within society has to start very early on. “I think we need to discuss the attitudes and the mind-sets that South Africans attain from a young age,” she said.

Third year law student, Nhlanhla Mchunu, said he found the dialogue insightful. “When you look at tackling socio-economic rights issues, how do you then ensure that you are best equipped to tackle those issues? Young people should be more inclined with the culture of learning,” the 20-year-old student said.

Dlamini-Zuma was the main key speaker for the evening event which was hosted by the Student Development and Leadership Unit (SDLU) of Wits University.  Nicole Msomi, the senior Program

Adviser of SDLU believes that having such discussions creates a space for “robust dialogue”.  “Just to get students to start thinking about how they can come up with solutions today,” she added.