Every year the days leading up to Africa Day, street vendors start displaying their best cultural outfits because they know the public want to look good for the occasion. However, in the mix of cultural outfits and good cuisine the real meaning behind the celebration of Africa Day gets lost.
Ubuntu, I am because we are, is a traditional African philosophical concept and the foundation on which the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was built on. The birth of the OAU, now known as the African Union (AU), on May 25, 1963, is the core reason why we celebrate Africa Day. 32 independent African states came together to fight colonialism and promote unity. This day is meant to strengthen the Pan African spirit, celebrate cultural diversity, reflect on progress and rewrite the narrative of Africa’s story.
Sadly, the meaning behind the celebration of this day has been watered down, and it has become just another day of dressing up, eating delicious food or a surge in sales for street vendors. Ntando Makhubu, a journalist at The Post Newspaper, wrote in his article that he spoke to a street vendor in Pretoria who said “For me, for us, it means a boom in business” which highlights how unaware some members the public are about the true intent of Africa Day.
Africa Day is only recognized as a public holiday in a handful of African Union member states, only six to nine of the 54. Mako Muzenda, a former freelance writer for Daily Maverick, wrote an article saying that the “25th of May is about statements and fanfare, not about making serious moves.” Africa Day has become more performative than educational or impactful, and this is another reason why the public’s awareness regarding Africa Day is low.
There are multiple articles promoting Africa Day celebrations that involve food, cultural dances, and dressing up. However, there are few speaking to the core reason of Africa Day and how Africa has grown or managed to rewrite its own story after colonization.
The lack of awareness shows how easily African history and unity can fade from public consciousness when not diligently taught. As the African Proverb says, “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” This means if Africans do not actively preserve, teach and celebrate their own history and the foundation that it was built on, it will continue to be forgotten or overlooked.
Featured Image:Headshot of Chrislyn Majiedt, this week’s editor.
Age might be nothing but a number, but in South Africa, it can be the thin line between having a job or not.
A struggling economy is forcing educated South Africans into prolonged unemployment.
Petition to end unfair age restrictions in career entry job opportunities.
Young graduate ideal vs older unemployed graduate reality.
A growing online petition calling for an end to age restrictions in jobs, internships and learnerships has revealed the unsettling reality of South Africa’s chronic unemployment. Young adults who are skilled but unemployed say they are being locked out of opportunities because they are considered “too old”.
Many internships and learnerships in both the public and private sectors commonly restrict applicants to those under the age of 35. Such age caps attached to entry-level opportunities unfairly disadvantage the older, unemployed candidates.
The petition has garnered over 10 000 signatures in just five days.
Signatory, Pat Mokoena (34) said being unemployed is “like being trapped in a cycle where employers demand experience while programmes designed to provide that said experience unfortunately exclude the majority of us because of how old we are, that’s why I signed the petition”.
Amid continued economic pressure in South Africa, unemployment remains among the highest globally. Youth unemployment has remained especially severe, and slow economic growth and limited job creation have intensified competition.
According to the conclusions of Hannah MacGinty’s master’s thesis, ‘Graduate unemployment in South Africa’, graduates are no longer entering the workforce immediately after completing their studies, resulting in delayed careers that stretch well into their 30s.
MacGinty warns that even those who secure employment are increasingly finding themselves in short-term or contract-based positions with limited long-term security.
This instability makes age restrictions even more problematic. Workers who lose jobs later in life often struggle to re-enter the labour market once they exceed programme age limits.
The petition and supporters thereof argue that “recruitment should focus on skills, qualifications, experience and willingness to work instead of age discrimination.”
While some employers may defend age caps as part of youth empowerment strategies, South Africa’s unique crisis needs to be considered.
This petition is a symptom of broader economic failures. It reflects the desperation and humiliation rituals that employment seekers have to endure in a constrained environment.
FEATURED IMAGE: Screengrab of the online petition. Photo by: Kamogelo Lesabe
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Wits is reopening Campus Lodge to ease postgraduate housing pressure, offering more affordable and dedicated accommodation for seniors.
The postgraduate accommodation has undergone much needed renovations.
The relaunch aims to address growing demand for affordable postgraduate accommodation at Wits.
Student leaders say the move is a step forward, but more support for postgraduates is still needed.
A once quiet Wit’s residence is preparing to welcome students again. The brown and blue building on the corner of De Korte and Station streets, may look the same from the outside but new rooms and common areas await inside.
Campus Housing and Residence Life (CHRL) confirmed that the postgraduate residence had been out of use and was in dire need of upgrades.
According to a post shared on CHRL’s TikTok page, the residence was initially expected to reopen on May 4, 2026, but couldn’t due to delays with equipment deliveries.
Claudine Prim the manager of the Central Accommodation Office, said the reopening is now expected on 18 May to address demand.
Prim said there is an “influx of postgraduate students looking for internal residences.”
The self-catering residence will offer a range of housing options, including studio apartments, two-bedroom apartments, and single rooms with shared kitchens and bathrooms.
Campus Lodge joins existing postgraduate residences including West Campus Village, International House and Wits Junction.
A picture of the entrance of Campus Lodge. Photo by: Sanele Sithole
For many students, the reopening could not come at a better time.
Mahloromela Silas Seabi, an MSc Computer Science student and chairperson of the Postgraduate Association (PGA), said postgraduate students often face limited and expensive housing options.
“University residences tend to be expensive, especially for postgraduate students, who are usually limited to Wits Junction, West Campus Village and International House,” Seabi said. “This gives an opportunity for more affordable postgraduate accommodation.”
He added that postgraduate students are often disadvantaged during residence allocation, as priority is usually given to undergraduate students, particularly first-years.
Seabi said demand for affordable postgraduate accommodation continues to grow alongside rising unemployment and economic uncertainty.
“Many students pursue postgraduate studies partly because of economic pressures, but often there isn’t enough affordable space to accommodate them,” he said.
Beyond affordability, Seabi argued postgraduate students require different support structures from undergraduates.
“A postgraduate space needs to cater for adults,” he said. “Some students are married; some have children. There needs to be communal spaces, lounges, good computing systems and support services that make students feel supported in their research journey.”
He added: “Accommodation is part of building a stronger postgraduate community — a space where students can interact, share ideas, support each other and manage the pressures of research.”
Students interested in applying for accommodation at Campus Lodge can visit the Central Accommodation Office on the ground floor of Solomon Mahlangu House for more information.
FEATURE: A picture of Campus Lodge. Photo by: Sanele Sithole
Former Auditor-General Terence Nombembe takes the chair at Wits Council, bringing a legacy of accountability to the university’s top governing structure.
Terence Nombembe, a key figure in South Africa’s fight against state capture, was appointed Chairperson of the Wits Council on 6 May 2026.
Nombembe has been a member of the Council since 2021, providing him with years of insight into the university’s complex financial and policy landscape.
SRC Deputy President Sibusiso Ngele expressed hope that Nombembe’s history with student leadership will lead to a positive future for the university.
The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has officially appointed former Auditor-General and Zondo Commission investigator Terence Nombembe as the Chairperson of the Wits Council. The move, announced on 6 May 2026, brings a world-renowned expert in accountability to the university’s highest governing body.
A legacy of oversight
Nombembe is no stranger to high-stakes governance. Before his election to the Chair this month, he served as a member of the Wits Council for five years, starting in 2021. His professional pedigree is rooted in transparency; he served as South Africa’s Auditor-General from 2006 to 2013 and later as the Head of Investigations for the Zondo Commission into State Capture.
Beyond his public office, Nombembe has held influential roles as the CEO of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and served on the board of the WWF South Africa. His career has been defined by a zero-tolerance approach to financial mismanagement, a background that Sibusiso Ngele, Deputy President of the Wits SRC, considers a vital asset.
“He is very familiar with Wits’ proceedings and the Council in general,” Ngele said. “That background is very important for the institution’s future.”
While the appointment of an “integrity expert” carries significant weight, Ngele was careful to define the boundaries of the Council’s power. He noted that while the Council approves major policy, financial rules, and documentation, the day-to-day management of the university remains the responsibility of the Vice-Chancellor.
Ngele noted that Nombembe’s role is primarily one of oversight rather than executive action, emphasising that the entire Council structure, not just the Chair, is responsible for implementing the university’s approvals. “As much as he is [the] Chair, it’s not very executive decisions that he has [to make]; it’s the whole structure that’s responsible for that implementation,” Ngele explained.
Addressing sensitive issues
When asked if Nombembe’s history of holding institutions accountable would change how management interacts with student leadership on sensitive topics, such as campus infrastructure, Ngele admitted the answer is not simple.
“It would be very difficult to answer that question,” Ngele stated. However, he remained hopeful that Nombembe’s track record would lead to a more collaborative environment. “Given his history with the SRC, I think we can really hope for a great future ahead for Wits,” Ngele concluded.
Waiting for the full picture
At the time of publication, other top members of the SRC executive, including President Gilbert Nchabeleng and Treasurer General Sonwabo Mhlahlo, had not yet commented regarding their specific expectations for Nombembe’s term.
As Nombembe settles into the chair, the student body will be watching to see how his high-level expertise in accountability translates into the tangible student experience on the ground.
FEATURED IMAGE: Picture of the Great Hall at the University of Witwatersrand. Photo: Daniella Ripamonti
R520-million partnership between Universities South Africa and Services SETA intended to be a lifeline for the missing middle has been met with administrative silence as Wits University leaves students in the dark.
Wits University received R20 million of a R520 million national bursary allocation.
Both USAf and the university financial aid have declined to clarify how the funds will be distributed.
Eligible self-funded students lack information on how to access the aid despite the high-profile announcement.
A partnership between Universities South Africa (USAf) and Services SETA launched an ambitious R520 million bursary fund on 30 April 2026 aimed at funding 5 200 students up to R100 000 a year for three years, but details of how Wits students can access the institution’s allocated R20 million remain unavailable with university authorities refusing to divulge any information.
The R520 million was distributed equally across 26 public universities in South Africa, with each institution receiving R20 million to support up to 200 beneficiaries.
An infographic illustrating the USAf and Servies SETA partnership. Graphic by: Rearabilwe Tsebela
In a press statement, USAf stated that the bursary fund is open to first-time applicants who are South African citizens enrolled at a public university, with funding capped at R100 000 per year. USAf CEO Dr Phethiwe Matutu, linked the fund to the missing middle gap students whose household income exceeds the R350 000 NSFAS threshold, but who still face financial pressure. However, the missing middle at Wits University are finding that information is strictly private.
“I have a concern that we are singling out specific funding”, stated Amanda Kort, a representative of the Wits financial aid office. “This is an internal administrative process, and I do not believe that we should provide the information nor the interview.”
This wall of silence is mirrored at the national level. Gcina Nhleko, USAf manager for corporate communications and media inquiries, deferred responsibility to the campus. “We do not allocate funds to students as USAf, but universities do,” Nhleko said. “We have been requested to follow the university protocols, please liaise with your financial aid bureau.”
Ntsako Mngomezulu, a bachelor of science student majoring in geology and applied geology, who is a self-funded missing middle student, has not found any information on where to apply for the R100 000 bursary. She noted that while the funding would “unburden her the cap does not adjust to inflation in Johannesburg.”
Lethabo Leputu, a bachelor of arts in film and television student, echoes the information gap. “It is my first time hearing about this,” she said when asked about the bursary. Leputu is partially funded by the National Film and Video Foundation which covers her tuition, but she must still find money for accommodation: placing her squarely in the missing middle. While acknowledging the R100 000 would not cover everything, she sees real value in what it could cover. “I would really appreciate my residence fees being covered. That would alleviate the stress and anxiety that comes with seeing your fee statement,” she said.
The lack of transparency raises questions about accountability, especially as Services SETA acting CEO Sibusio Dhladla noted the organisation is currently under administration due to “governance failures.”
Services SETA had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication. For now, the R20 million earmarked for Wits remains a ghost in the system, leaving the students it was meant to support without a clear path to access the promised relief.
FEATURED IMAGE: Wits students protest against fee increase in 2016. Gap funding came as a solution from government to help students whose household income is less than R600 000. Photo: Wits Vuvuzela/File
Wits University reclaims African narratives through the South African premiere of Kancícà at the Digital Dome, proving 8K innovation is a powerful tool for cultural memory and heritage.
The Wits Anglo American Digital Dome is pivoting from its traditional scientific roots to become a hub for African mythology and storytelling.
Kancícà utilises high-end gaming engines and 360-degree 8K animation, positioning Wits at the global forefront of immersive digital production.
The project serves as a “portal” for students to explore the future of work, AI, and African leadership within the global digital ecosystem.
The interior of the Anglo American Digital Dome. Photo: Supplied
While the Johannesburg Planetarium officially completed its R90-million transformation into the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome in November 2024, a recent premiere suggests the facility is entering a new era of cultural significance.
On 8 May, the Dome hosted the South African premiere of Kancícà, an immersive experience that moves beyond traditional astronomy to signal a turning point for how the continent tells its own stories. The launch positions Wits as a leading hub for cutting-edge digital experiences rather than a mere consumer of Western technology.
Dr Moumita Aich, instrumental in the Dome’s research integration, notes that 8K full-dome technology allows for a “shared emotional experience,” emphasising that this technology creates new forms of public engagement while preserving heritage.
“The scale and detail make African histories and traditions feel alive and immediate,” says Aich. “In this way, the Dome becomes more than a scientific space: it becomes a place for cultural memory and reimagining African narratives through immersive storytelling.”
Festival director Alby Michaels explains that Kancícà focuses on creating work “by Africans, for Africans, and especially through an African lens”. The production uniquely utilised Unreal Engine, a high-end gaming engine, to render 2D and 3D animation for the full-dome experience. “It opens up the doors for more experimentation… so that we can become the leaders in our own narratives,” Michaels says.
For Wits students, Michaels sees the Dome as a laboratory for the “future of work”. “I’m hoping an engagement like this will open a little door, even a portal, for imagining the future in a better way for all of us,” he told Wits Vuvuzela.
Audience members from outside of Wits, Constant Volschenk and Bongiwe Ndulula, highlight the immersive nature of the dome, which relies on a 35-degree viewing angle in reclining seats. “The main scenes are in front of you, and the surrounding is the background of the scene,” says Volschenk. Ndulula was particularly moved by a spiritual scene involving a boat in a storm, noting that the 360-degree view offers a vital shift in perspective.
Following its premiere, the programme is now open to the public at the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome from 25 April to August 2026. As Aich suggests, if you have not yet watched this wonderful show, it is a necessary gateway into the future of African digital heritage.
FEATURED IMAGE: Exterior picture of the Anglo American Digital Dome. Photo: Daniella Ripamonti
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Women’s Rugby showed early-season resilience and unity despite a 27-0 opening defeat to Zondi Women’s Rugby club on Saturday.
Wits Women’s Rugby opened their 2026 league season with a 27-0 defeat to Zondi Women’s Rugby Club at Wits Rugby Stadium.
Despite the loss, Wits showed resilience, strong defensive organisation, and growing team unity throughout the match.
The match reflected the continued growth of the Wits Women’s Rugby programme since its establishment in 2019.
The Wits Women’s Rugby team opened their league season at Wits Rugby Stadium on Saturday May 9, 2026, producing a spirited performance against a physically dominant Zondi side in a match that tested both their structure and resolve.
From kick-off at 13:20, Wits showed intensity at the breakdown, organised defensive sets, and confidence in possession despite sustained early pressure from the visitors. Zondi controlled the territory for much of the first half, scoring their first try midway through after winning a turnover inside Wits’ 22. Wits responded with improved defensive organisation and stronger carries, matching Zondi’s physicality in several exchanges. Zondi added another try just before half-time to take a 10-0 lead into the break, but the Wits team continued to contest every phase with discipline and commitment.
Their strongest moments came in defense, where disciplined communication and collective organisation reflected the side’s growing cohesion. Even during difficult phases of play, players responded to the coach’s instructions, quickly regrouping after errors and maintaining their defensive structure under pressure.
Pinned deep in their own half on several occasions, Wits absorbed repeated phases of pressure through committed tackling and strong on-field communication. The forward pack showed determination in the scrums, while ball carriers consistently worked hard to gain metres in contact despite Zondi’s physical dominance.
Wits Women’s Rugby forwards contest possession during a scrum against Zondi in their opening league fixture at Wits Rugby Stadium on Saturday. Photo: Alice Dhlamini
The second half brought renewed energy from the home side. Substitutions lifted the tempo, defensive organisation improved, and Wits showed greater confidence in building play. A yellow card during a crucial stage shifted momentum further in Zondi’s favour, but Wits still maintained their intensity and rate throughout.
Even as the scoreline widened, the home side continued fighting until the final whistle, earning respect from supporters and coaches alike for their commitment.
Captain Nikitha Dlabane, a final-year biomedical sciences student, said the performance reflected the growing unity developing within a relatively inexperienced Wits side, explaining that despite the pressure of the occasion, the players “stayed together as a team” and continuously encouraged one another throughout the match. She added that the side drew confidence from strong scrummaging, effective carries, and organised defensive folding, although she acknowledged that there is still room for improvement as the squad continues to develop.
“This game was tough because a lot of our girls are very new,” she said, “but we stayed together as a team. We encouraged each other all the way, and I feel like that is what makes the team.”
Dlabane also highlighted the technical aspects that gave Wits confidence during the match.
Head coach Winsdon Grootboom praised his side’s “never-say-dying attitude” despite the defeat, highlighting the determination shown by a squad that included “six or seven women” making their first rugby appearance. Although he admitted that “pressure creates mistakes” at crucial stages of the match, Grootboom said he was encouraged by the way the players “fought until the end” and continued trying to execute the structures and patterns they had worked on in training.
The Wits Women’s Rugby team warm up ahead of their season opener against Zondi Women’s Rugby Club at Wits Rugby Stadium on May 9, 2026. Photo: Alice Dhlamini
Wits player Mamokgopane Tsotetsi, a second-year industrial engineering student, said preparation played an important role in helping the team remain composed ahead of the fixture, with the squad focusing on “scrums, structures, lineouts, and all the basics” during training. She added that constant communication and encouragement on the field helped the side maintain its intensity during difficult passages of play.
Beyond the result, the fixture reflected the growing visibility of women’s rugby at Wits, with supporters highlighting the significance of women’s presence in a traditionally male-dominated sport. Second-year Bachelor of Arts student in South African Sign Language and political studies, Tshimangadzo Sigoba, described it as “refreshing seeing women taking up space in rugby,” while supporter One Segano noted that women’s rugby is gaining greater exposure and media attention on campus.
The crowd responded loudly throughout the afternoon, particularly after Zondi’s opening try, as tension built with Wits searching for opportunities to break through defensively. A Wits injury late in the match added further intensity to an already physical encounter, while the home side’s number one forward stood out with powerful ball carries and strong work around contact areas.
While the scoreboard may not have favoured Wits, the match stood as a testament to the team’s rapid progress and the rising profile of women’s rugby at the university since its establishment in 2019. As the season unfolds, the Wits Women’s Rugby team looks set to continue inspiring players and supporters alike with their unwavering determination.
A graphic highlighting Wits Women’s Rugby’s season opener against Zondi Women’s Rugby Club reflects the team’s resilience, unity, and determination despite a challenging start to the season. Graphic: Emmanuel Molebatsi
FEATURED IMAGE: Wits Women’s Rugby players chase down a Zondi ball carrier during their league opener at Wits Rugby Stadium on May 9, 2026. Despite a 27-0 defeat, Wits showed defensive resilience and growing cohesion throughout the match. Photo: Alice Dhlamini
Wits E-Hub Market Day turned the Library Lawns into a lively marketplace where students put their entrepreneurial feet first.
Wits E-Hub Market Day gives student entrepreneurs an opportunity to sell products, test ideas, and build visibility on campus,
With South Africa’s youth unemployment rate at 46.1%, more students are turning side hustles into viable income streams while still studying.
Student-led businesses like Ilanga Coils show how personal experiences are being turned into scalable ventures, supported by campus entrepreneurship spaces.
Image of crochet handbags by Eddies Craft
Decorated stalls lined at the Wits University Library Lawns as students moved between vendors selling jewellery, bags, new tech innovations, candles, henna art and sweet treats. Behind one table, third-year year Accounting Sciences student Tassy Mabuza was already close to selling out of his, Barebites, sweets from his business, Sweetplug co.
The Wits Entrepreneurship-Hub (E-hub) supports students interested in starting and growing businesses. Based at the Matrix Building on campus, the hub provides networking opportunities, pitching sessions, market days and co-working spaces for collaboration and ideation. Faith Njoko, project co-ordinater at E-Hub,says through weekly business events and entrepreneurship programmes, they help students gain practical business experience outside of the classroom. A vital bridge between academic study and the realities of running a business for many students.
Through initiatives such as the recent Market Day, students can test products, interact directly with customers and build brand visibility within the campus community.
Beyond the lively atmosphere, the event reflects a growing culture of entrepreneurship among young South Africans and students navigating a difficult economy and rising youth unemployment. According to Statistics South Africa, the country’s official unemployment rate rose to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025, while youth unemployment among people aged 15 to 34 reached 46.1%. Against this backdrop, side hustles are becoming more than temporary trends for students. From haircare brands and food businesses to fashion and creative services, many young people are using entrepreneurship to create opportunities for themselves.
This growing entrepreneurial culture is largely solution driven, with students identifying everyday problems and developing businesses that respond to real needs within their communities.
Image of iLanga Coils Hair Products
One of the student entrepreneurs at the market, Nomusa Khambule, turned a personal struggle with natural hair into a growing business while completing her master’s degree in management specialising in entrepreneurship and new venture creation. Khambule’s Ilanga Coils was born in 2022 after she struggled to find products that worked for her own hair. Drawing from her science background, she started experimenting with ingredients and formulas before officially launching the business in 2023. “What started as solving my own problem became something much bigger once people started responding positively to the products,” she said.
Since then, the brand has expanded beyond campus markets and recently collaborated on a campaign with Absa, a milestone Khambule said validated the potential of student owned businesses. However, balancing postgraduate studies and entrepreneurship has not been easy. Khambule rejected the idea of “perfect balance”, saying that running a business while studying requires constant prioritisation. “Some days school needs more attention, and other days the business comes first,” she explained.
Despite the challenges, Khambule said physical market events remain important because customers can directly experience the products before purchasing them. “For haircare especially, people want to touch, smell and try products before buying them,” she said.
Additionally, she said that “markets help build trust and visibility.” Although Ilanga Coils is now profitable, Khambule said scaling production remains one of her biggest hurdles as she still operates from her kitchen. She hopes to eventually expand the brand into a recognised African cosmetics company.
Image of Snowflicker Studios Candles
As the market slowly began to quiet down, students packed away the last of their products after a day of sales and networking. For many of them, the businesses displayed on the library lawns are more than temporary side hustles, they mark the beginning of long-term ambitions.
FEATURED IMAGE: Image of Tassy Mabuza, founder of Sweetplug co at the E-Hub market showcase. Photo: Nqobile Mtshali
Some people still measure degrees based on its employability. Is this a fair standard to use when degrees are not obtained solely to get jobs?
Are Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees really “useless”? Many people on social media think that it is simply because of the apparent employment challenges BA graduates face. This idea is further portrayed by governments cutting funding for specifically humanities degrees. As seen in the United Kingdom, the University of Hertfordshire scrapped courses such as History, English Literature and Linguistics to name a few, due to a declining demand making the courses no longer financially viable.
The common perception of BA degrees is that, because they are not professional or specialised degrees, they are mostly academic, and unemployment among BA graduates is high. It would be unfair for people to use this criteria to label Bachelor of Arts degrees as “useless”.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (2025), “possessing a tertiary education, especially a degree, enhances one’s likelihood of securing employment.” The report also shows the more employable sectors for the youth such as Elementary occupations (which require short training) at 25.3%, trade at 24.5%, sales and services at 20.0%, community and social services at 19.8%. This highlights that unemployment is not tied to a specific field of study but is embedded in a country’s economic challenges. The real divide is between graduates and non-graduates in a struggling economy like South Africa’s, but to assume that employment is the only reason degrees are pursued is incorrect.
Graphic showing the top four employable field in South Africa according to Statistics Soth Africa Quarterly Labour Force 2025 report. By: Zebrena Ralph
Professor Paul Ashwin, from Lancaster University, argues that “rather than the employment and salaries of graduates, the central educational purpose of university education is to transform students through their engagement with knowledge”.
Degrees are obtained for different reasons. While some people prepare for specific career paths like healthcare or law, the purpose of higher education goes far beyond employment. A university degree enables knowledge acquisition, critical thinking and personal growth. To label a degree as “useless” because some graduates — including Bachelor of Arts graduates — face unemployment is inaccurate and reveals a deeper misunderstanding of what a university degree is meant to achieve.
BA career paths are unique, hence the stigma. Graduates from specialised fields like Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) often move into clearly labelled graduate programmes, making these career paths appear neat and measurable. BA graduates, however, rarely follow a linear path. Their broad skills allow them to move into media, marketing, governance, research and corporate roles, often shifting between industries over time. These careers are diverse and non-linear, thus harder to track statistically. Tracey Ashington, a graduate recruiter, explains, that “many jobs are not advertised at all… This is known as the hidden job market.”
BA careers are therefore not nonexistent — they are simply harder to map.
Ironically, employers often complain about graduates lacking the very skills a BA degree develops. According to LinkedIn, adaptability, teamwork, problem-solving and communication skills are seen as core workplace competencies. In an era of automated and artificial intelligence, the ability to interpret information, understand people and think ethically are becoming more valuable.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the ‘useless BA degree’ narrative is that the sole purpose of studying is employment. Reducing tertiary education to a degree being a ticket to getting a job ignores its role in developing thinkers, citizens and problem-solvers, not just employees.
FEATURED IMAGE: Graphic showing the top four employable field in South Africa according to Statistics Soth Africa Quarterly Labour Force 2025 report. By: Zebrena Ralph
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Albertina Sisulu, and Adelaide Tambo are often remembered as women who stood behind great men while their husbands were imprisoned, exiled, or silenced by Apartheid. However, that memory is incomplete.
These women are not simply supporting figures in South Africa’s liberation story; they are central characters in it. They were organisers, political actors, caregivers, and leaders who carried families, communities, and, in many ways, the struggle itself on their backs.
The new Netflix documentary The Trials of Winnie Mandela offers a deeply moving portrait of Mama Winnie — from her youth to her marriage, to becoming one of Apartheid’s fiercest opponents, and later enduring public scrutiny during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. What the documentary captures so powerfully is not just Winnie Mandela’s politics, but her resilience.
When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, Winnie kept his name alive. While the apartheid state tried to crush resistance, she remained visible, vocal, and defiant. At home, she was left to raise two daughters under immense pressure. In public, she became the face of resistance. In private, she still had to be a mother, provider, protector, and head of the household. She was expected to be everything.
That reality is not unique to Winnie Mandela. It is the lived reality of millions of South African women today.
According to Statistics South Africa, approximately 6.1 million households or 37.9% of all households in South Africa were headed by women in 2018, with female-headed households being most common in rural provinces such as the Eastern Cape (46.9%), Limpopo (45.8%), and KwaZulu-Natal (45.0%). More recent figures show that by 2024, that number had risen to 42.4% of households nationwide, meaning more than two in every five South African homes are led by women.
This is not a small social trend; it is the backbone of South African society. And yet, despite carrying homes, raising children, and often being the sole breadwinners, women continue to receive little recognition for their labour. Their sacrifices are normalised. Their struggles are overlooked. Their strength is expected.
Instead of appreciation, many are met with criticism, scrutiny, and impossible standards much like Winnie Mandela herself, whose legacy is too often reduced to controversy rather than the weight of what she carried.
A graphic of resilient women. Graphic and photos: Sanele Sithole
I think of women like my own mother, and countless others whose names will never appear in documentaries or history books, but whose work has held families together against impossible odds. These women build homes from very little. They sacrifice quietly. They endure endlessly, yet we rarely tell their stories in full.
South African history has long celebrated men as heroes, while women are remembered as wives, widows, or footnotes to male greatness. Women were never standing beside history; they were making it.
The question is no longer whether women deserve recognition.
The real question is: when will we finally honour the women who have been carrying this country, often alone, all along?
FEATURED IMAGE: A graphic of resilient women. Photo by: Sanele Sithole
Bleeding every month against our will is already too much to deal with.
South Africa treats sex like a public health crisis and periods like a personal problem. You can walk into almost any campus clinic, any bathroom, any office, and find a bowl of free condoms. No questions asked. Try finding a free pad. Sex is a choice; bleeding is not.
This is not just a South African oversight, but a continuous pattern rooted in a system that has historically centred male bodies as the default. Male needs are treated as public health priorities, and female biology a private inconvenience.
The hypocrisy is costing South African girls their education, according to Dr Lydia Chibwe from the University of Pretoria, roughly 30% of school-going girls in this country skip school each month. That means missed classes, stifled opportunities, and compromised dignity.
I have noticed something rather absurd: I can access free condoms more easily than I can access pads. And those condoms are usually made for men. Which is odd because sex is a choice, periods are not. A simple walk into most female bathrooms on campus, and you will not find a single dispensing machine for pads or tampons. If there are any, they are always empty. If your period arrives unexpectedly, or if you just cannot afford products that month, you are on your own.
In the South African economy, sanitary products have become a luxury that many girls cannot afford, so they resort to toilet paper, newspaper, or even socks, which are not designed to sit against the body for hours, catching blood. Not only is that undignified, but it is a health risk that can cause infections, rashes, and toxic shock syndrome.
There is a shift in conversation in Africa. At a regional level, the African Coalition for Menstrual Health Management has been pushing for menstrual health to be recognised as a human right, not a private issue. In Kenya, two days of paid menstrual leave for employees was introduced in December 2025.
Conversations about allocating national budgets for sanitary products in schools in the above countries are being had. Yet, South Africa has only removed Value Added Tax (VAT) on menstrual products.
Condoms displayed on the table in the Campus Health Clinic reception area. Photo: Naledi Maraisane
Access and cost aside, women and girls still have to deal with the pain.
Period cramps are not just ‘discomfort’, but they can be so severe that you pass out; I know, because it has happened to me. The pain is unbearable, and yet, in South Africa, we do not get sick days for it. There is an expectation to sit in lectures, meet deadlines, and show up to work while our uteruses contract like they are trying to escape our bodies. We push through because “that is just what women do.”
Add cultural stigma to that, and it gets worse. Many girls are taught that periods are dirty, shameful, and not to be discussed. So, they do not ask for help. They do not ask for pads. They just disappear for a week each month and fall behind.
We are always fighting to belong in spaces that were not built for us. The last thing we need is to be shunned for bleeding against our will every month. We should not have to work and study through agonising pain, while still struggling to afford and access basic menstrual products and services. If society can make space for free condoms, it can make space for free pads. Because equality does not start when we stop bleeding, it starts when we stop being punished for it.
FEATURE IMAGE: An empty sanitary pad dispensary box located in Solomon Mahlangu’s basement female bathrooms. Photo: Naledi Maraisane
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At Wits, decolonisation remains incomplete as English dominance continues to limit true multilingual inclusion in learning and assessment.
In 2015, during the #FeesMustFall movement, South African universities were forced into a reckoning that extends beyond protest and policy reform. At the University of the Witwatersrand, this moment led to a language policy that introduced English, isiZulu, Sesotho, and South African Sign Language (SASL) into its academic framework. Yet, as Wits advances through its 2023 Strategic Framework, a plan guiding the university’s goals around transformation, inclusion, research, and global competitiveness, though a contradiction remains: the institution speaks of decolonising knowledge while leaving the language of learning largely unchanged.
Decolonisation without linguistic transformation is incomplete. A curriculum may diversify its content but if access to knowledge remains dependent on English, exclusion is not removed but relocated into the medium of instruction. This dynamic can be understood through what Miranda Fricker terms epistemic injustice, which is a condition in which certain forms of knowledge are undervalued because of the language in which they are expressed. In this context, students are not excluded from knowing, but from having their knowledge fully recognised unless it is articulated in English.
As Steve Biko warned, “the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”, a condition sustained not only through content, but through the very language in which knowledge is delivered and recognised. His insistence that education must cultivate critical consciousness rather than reproduce subordination sharpens this argument: when students are compelled to translate their intellectual lives into English to be legible, the system does not liberate thought; it disciplines it.
This is not abstract. In lecture halls across Wits, language shapes how students learn and are assessed. In science and health sciences courses, students encounter, process, and are tested on complex ideas in English, even when understanding often begins in other languages during peer discussion. Learning in familiar languages can improve comprehension, participation, and confidence, reduce cognitive load and also allow students to engage more fully with complex material.
In engineering tutorials, students switch to isiZulu or Sesotho in order to unpack difficult concepts, only for that cognitive work to disappear in formal assessment, where only English counts. In Sociolinguistics, this is understood as code-switching, a skilled practice rather than a deficiency. What appears as hesitation is, in reality, intellectual labour: students are learning disciplinary content while translating it across linguistic systems; a demand not equally placed on all. They are not struggling with content; they are performing unpaid intellectual labour to make that content legible within a single dominant language.
Wits visibly acknowledges four languages on campus signage, raising questions about the absence of South Africa’s other official languages in learning and assessment. Photo: Alice Dhlamini.
This extends beyond technical disciplines and reflects a broader experience across faculties where language shapes who can fully access knowledge.
As third-year industrial engineering student Tshedza Tsiololi explains, “some engineering terms, such as dynamic system or torque, do not translate easily into everyday language… This makes learning time-consuming, especially in the absence of accessible translation tools”. This translation process carries material consequences. When comprehension is delayed, so too is performance, affecting assessment outcomes, time to completion, and the cost of education. Language barriers are therefore not only pedagogical concerns but structural inefficiencies.
The result is not a lack of understanding but a delay in it. Students carry an invisible cognitive burden, constantly translating their thinking. Language cannot be treated as a secondary issue in curriculum reform.
Language shapes how knowledge is accessed, processed, and recognised. When a medical student must translate reasoning to communicate with a patient, or an engineering student is assessed in a language that can flatten thinking processes, language becomes a gatekeeping mechanism. Yet the persistence of English is often justified through its role in global academia. While not unfounded, this argument is incomplete. Countries such as Germany, Japan, and South Korea demonstrate that strong language production can occur in national languages alongside English. Multilingualism is not a barrier to global relevance but a source of intellectual flexibility.
Wits’ current approach reflects both progress and limitations. As noted by the Head of African Languages, Dr Soyiso Khetoa, “the university’s focus on English, South African Sign Language, isiZulu, and Sesotho is informed by demographic research”. Institutional efforts, such as language-learning applications, support isiZulu acquisition. However, this raises a deeper question: what happens to students whose linguistic identities fall outside these dominant categories?
A comparative perspective complicates this further. In Tanzania, the adoption of Swahili under Julius Nyerere aimed to democratise education and strengthen national identity. This model significantly expanded access and participation at foundational levels, enabling students to learn in a familiar linguistic context. While access improved at foundational levels, challenges emerged in higher education, including limited technical terminology. This illustrates that linguistic transformation is both possible and complex, requiring sustained commitment rather than selective implementation.
Accommodation based on geographic prevalence may be efficient, but it is not neutral. It creates new margins. Students who speak other African Languages remain excluded, not because their languages lack value, but because they fall outside institutional feasibility. In this way, multilingualism risks becoming selective rather than transformative. South Africa’s own history offers parallels. Institutions such as Stellenbosch University and the University of Pretoria have shown that full academic systems can be developed in Afrikaans, raising the question of why similar levels of investment have not been extended to African languages in a democratic context, while also revealing how language can function as both inclusion and exclusion.
Bert van Pinxteren argues that expanding the language of learning is expensive and complex. “Developing academic terminology in African languages, training staff, and redesigning assessments require time and resources”, he notes. These challenges are real, but difficulty is not a justification for permanence. Technology tools, from translation software to AI-assisted terminology development, are reshaping what is feasible. The limitation is increasingly institutional: whether universities are willing to invest in systems that reflect their students’ realities.
When African languages are used informally for explanation but excluded from formal assessment, universities reinforce a hierarchy where legitimacy remains tied to English. Inclusion becomes conditional.
Restricted-access signage at Wits mirrors ongoing debates around who is fully recognised within the university’s linguistic and academic spaces. Photo: Alice Dhlamini.
The 2015 policy was a meaningful step, but without implementation, it risks becoming symbolic. If students must translate their intellectual lives into one dominant language to be recognised, decolonisation remains incomplete. The issue is the distinction between symbolic and material transformation: policy signals intent, but assessment determines whose knowledge is legitimised.
A serious commitment to transformation does not require abandoning English. It requires building multilingual academic systems where English is one of several legitimate languages of learning. This could include bilingual modules, expanded language support, and discipline-specific terminology across a broader range of African languages.
And perhaps the most uncomfortable question is this: must students once again protest to be heard? The 2015 moment demonstrated that institutional change often follows student pressure. If language remains a barrier, it raises concerns about whether dialogue alone is sufficient.
Decolonisation, if it is to mean anything, must be a dialogue, not only between institution and student, but between languages themselves. The question is not whether English will remain at Wits; it will. The question is whether students will continue to think in multiple languages but be recognised in only one language. Until students can be recognised in the languages in which they think, decolonisation remains a translation exercise, not a transformation. More fundamentally, it is whether Wits is willing to move from being a university that is merely in Africa to one that is truly of Africa.
FEATURED IMAGE: A student points toward an emergency assembly point at Wits, symbolising urgent questions around language, access, and transformation in higher education. Photo: Alice Dhlamini.
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
