When the government announced a 10.5% increase in tertiary education fees, due to the high inflation of the South African economy, the news fell on an already disgruntled and highly mobilised student body.
#FeesMustFall began at the University of Witwatersrand when the Student Representative Council began shutting down the university by blockading entrances, on Wednesday the 14th of October. #FeesMustFall took to social media to spread the word. Lectures and other campus activities were suspended. The fee increase meant financial exclusion for many Black students, for whom it was already a challenge to access and sustain their tertiary education.
By Monday the 19th of October, the #NationalShutDown had spread throughout tertiary institutions in the country.
On the 23rd of October, protestors gathered outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria to be addressed by President Jacob Zuma. After meeting with student representatives and university officials, Zuma announced via broadcast stations that there would be a freeze on the increase that was initially made that year, for tertiary education in 2016.
