18/03/2026
For Immediate Release
18 March 2026
Today we gather not as spectators of history but as its authors. SASCO Leweleputswa stands at the crossroads of promise and responsibility, a student movement forged in struggle, sustained by principle and driven by conviction that education is not a privilege but a public good. We are the bridge between policy promises and lived realities.
Decolonisation of the curriculum, equitable access to funding, mental health support and safe campuses are not abstract campaigns, they are urgent demands rooted in the unfinished business of our democracy. To transform education is to transform society; to open the doors of learning to all is to open the doors of possibility for generations to come. Receive our warm revolutionary greetings.
Right To Learn Campaign
We can proudly declare that our Right to Learn Campaign across the region was a resounding success: we mobilised, counselled and assisted countless students to gain access to higher learning institutions and secure funding. Where barriers stood, our movement built bridges; where doors were closed we forced them open. This victory belongs to the students we serve.
We are, however, deeply disturbed by the arrogance and obstructionism displayed by CUT management and the PASMA-SRC during this period. Their deliberate attempts to deny SASCO access on campus were not merely bureaucratic hostility but they were a direct attack on students' access to education.
We believe the efforts to block SASCO were an attempt to conceal wrongdoings and silence those who expose it. Let it be clear that SASCO will not be intimidated or side-lined. We will escalate our mobilisation, deepen our solidarity with affected students and pursue every lawful avenue to defend organisational rights and the dignity of students. The struggle for education is non-negotiable and we will meet arrogance with organised resistance until justice is done.
Goldfields TVET College SRC elections.
Warm and proud congratulations to SASCO Goldfields TVET College on your resounding victory in the SRC elections.
This achievement is more than just a win—it is a clear expression of student confidence, unity, and the continued strength of progressive student leadership in the institution. Your dominance reflects tireless organizing, principled politics and a deep commitment to advancing the interests of students.
May this victory usher in a term of bold leadership, accountability and meaningful transformation.
Continue to lead with integrity, serve with humility, and inspire others through action.
PYA and ANC
The resurgence and strengthening of the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) components in our region is not just progress but it is a bold political statement. It signals a new era of unity, discipline and militant activism among young people who refuse to be side-lined. A united PYA is a decisive force, a collective engine that ensures the struggles of the youth are not whispered in corners but championed loudly, unapologetically and with revolutionary clarity. Unity is our weapon and through it, we will confront inequality, unemployment and the systemic neglect of young people.
As South African Students Congress (SASCO), we proudly and confidently affirm that this growing cohesion within the PYA is exactly what is required to shift the balance of power in favour of the youth. Fragmentation has no place in our struggle but only unity, only purpose and only action.
We extend our sincere and militant gratitude to the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in the region for their unwavering and principled support during both the Right To Learn Campaign and the SRC elections. Your presence, your activism and your solidarity did not just support SASCO-it strengthened the broader struggle for accessible, quality education. This is the kind of alliance that builds movements and delivers victories.
We also welcome, with both appreciation and political maturity, the renewed and improving relationship with the African National Congress (ANC). Given the difficulties and tensions of the past, this shift is both necessary and encouraging. However, we are clear: this relationship must continue to grow in substance, not just in form. It must reflect a genuine commitment to student struggles and youth development.
To the ANC in our region, as you approach your upcoming regional conference, we send our best wishes-but also our expectations. We trust that delegates will rise to the occasion and elect leadership that is not only capable but transformative. Leadership that will not maintain the status quo, but will decisively improve local government, restore dignity in service delivery and champion the real needs of our communities.
We further state, without ambiguity, that we trust the incoming leadership will not repeat the opportunistic tendencies of the past-where SASCO is only remembered during the Right To Learn Campaign when political convenience calls. That era must come to an end. What is required now is a consistent, principled, and programmatic relationship-one where the ANC works hand in hand with SASCO all year round, not only in moments of need, but in building lasting solutions for students and young people.
The message is clear: the youth are organized, the PYA is rising and the struggle is advancing. With unity, courage, and unwavering political will, we will continue to push forward-relentless, confident and victorious.
Accommodation Crisis
The accommodation crisis facing students at Goldfields TVET College has reached intolerable and inexcusable levels. What we are witnessing is not just administrative failure—it is a direct assault on the dignity, safety, and academic future of working-class students. It is a brutal contradiction that so-called accredited accommodations funded through National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) | stand empty, while students are forced to survive in unsafe, unhygienic and exploitative private housing
This is not a coincidence-it is negligence. It reflects a system that has lost touch with the lived realities of students and continues to reproduce inequality under the guise of support. Students are being pushed into environments that no parent, no guardian, and no responsible institution would ever accept. Overcrowded rooms, poor sanitation, lack of security and outright exploitation have become the daily experience of students who came to pursue education, not to endure suffering.
We state this without fear or hesitation: the management of Goldfields TVET College must act and they must act now. There can be no justification for accredited residences to remain underutilized while students are exposed to danger. This is a failure of coordination, oversight and political will — and it must be corrected with urgency.
We call on the institution's leadership to conduct an immediate and transparent review of the accommodation allocation process, to ensure that all qualifying students are placed in safe, regulated, and humane living spaces. Anything less is unacceptable. Students must be housed in conditions that the very same leadership would deem fit for their own children-clean, secure, dignified, and conducive to academic success.
This crisis is not just about comfort; it is about survival and performance. No student can be expected to excel academically while living in fear, in filth, or under constant threat of eviction or exploitation. Proper accommodation is not a luxury-it is a fundamental pillar of educational success. Addressing this crisis will not only improve academic outcomes but will also shield students from the rising wave of accommodation-related crime and robberies that continue to terrorize vulnerable students.
The time for empty statements is over. The time for decisive intervention is now. Students are not statistics-they are the future of this country, and they deserve to live, learn, and thrive in conditions that reflect that reality.
International Relation
The Fourth Pillar of Struggle stands today as a necessary and urgent response to the deepening injustices faced by oppressed peoples across the globe. Led by SASCO, this petition is not just a document—it is a moral call to action against the ongoing genocide and apartheid inflicted upon the Palestinian people, the devastating and often overlooked war in Sudan, the continued occupation of Western Sahara, and the suppression of democratic rights in eSwatini.
As students, as youth, and as citizens of South Africa, we carry a historic responsibility. Our own liberation was not won in isolation-it was built on international solidarity, resistance, and the unwavering belief that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Today, we are called to extend that same solidarity beyond our borders.
The Fourth Pillar of Struggle reminds us that the fight for freedom did not end in 1994. It evolves. It demands that we confront global systems of oppression while defending and deepening our own democratic gains at home.
We therefore call on all students, young people, and progressive forces across South Africa to sign and actively promote the Fourth Pillar of Struggle petition. Let it echo in campuses, communities, and workplaces. Let it become a unified voice that refuses silence in the face of suffering.
Furthermore, we urge all students and the youth in our region to join the People's March on the 21st of March. On this historic day, we must come together in our numbers to defend our democratic gains, assert our sovereignty, and stand in unwavering solidarity with those still fighting for their freedom.
The struggle continues-our generation must answer its call.
"Build the branch, advance the charter"
Issued by SASCO Lejweleputswa Regional Task Team
