In memoriam of the Soweto Uprising, we note that despite efforts made since the dawn of democracy to address challenges facing the youth, unemployment, online bullying, homophobia, ableism, racism, and sexual assault in schools, lack of scholar transport, teenage pregnancy, drug addiction, and alcohol abuse are some of the systemic current challenges that require a coordinated solution.  

As such, the Commission, in line with its constitutional mandate to promote, protect and monitor the observance of human rights took a strategic resolution to among others, prioritise education, and children focal areas to address these pertinent systemic challenges.

Tuition fees: The Commission notes that 2025 marks ten years since the youth of 2015, under the banner #FeesMustFall, relentlessly marched against rising tuition fees, which increasingly made tertiary education inaccessible for poorer students. Ten years later, poorer students are still facing challenges with tuition fees as evidenced by protest actions against delays by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to allocate funds and the resultant challenges with accommodation. Intervention: The Commission continues to investigate and address individual complaints while addressing systemic challenges with NSFAS.

University Protests: The Commission has also noted with concern the heavy-handed approach by some tertiary institutions to protests, which in some instances resulted in students being injured or losing their lives. In other cases, students engage in protest measures that lead to unnecessary escalation of the conflict. Intervention: In addition to addressing individual complaints, in the Walter Sisulu University incident in May 2024 where several students suffered injuries allegedly as a result of the usage of live ammunition by members of SAPS, the Commission conducted an investigative inquiry to look at the incident.  The report will be released in due course. This report explores the balancing act between the exercise of the right to peaceful and robust protest in a way that does not infringe on the rights of other members of the university community and university property, the scope and limit of the role of private security personnel and the exercise of public order policing in line with constitutional prescripts and SAPS guidelines. The recommendations of this report will be applicable nationwide.

State of Schools: Owing to persistent complaints received regarding challenges in schools such as poor and unfit infrastructure, overcrowding, disciplinary issues, and late enrolment, the Commission has prioritised conducting monitoring activities to address these challenges systematically. Intervention: In January and February 2025, the SAHRC conducted  a national School Readiness Monitoring Project across all nine provinces to assess the state of readiness of public schools at the beginning of the academic year, focusing on the right to basic education enshrined in section 29 of the Constitution. Our provincial offices monitored more than 150 schools across the country, ranging from urban secondary institutions to rural, farm and boarding schools. The Commission will release a report with findings and recommendations in the coming weeks.

Transformation of school culture: The Commission has received complaints regarding the lack of transformation of schools in relation to racism, religion, sex, sexual orientation and hair policies. The Commission has noted concerns raised by members of the public and human rights defenders over issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism and the need to address them proactively and holistically. Intervention: In response to this challenge, the Commission collaborated with the Equal Education Legal Centre on the development of the Model Code of Conduct. The model code guides schools in adopting a constitutionally-complainant code of conduct.

Scholar transport: The Commission has investigated challenges with scholar transport in various provinces including Gauteng, Eastern Cape, and North-West. In response to scholar transport challenges where approximately 50,000 learners in the Eastern Cape lack access to scholar transport and walk long distances to school, the Makhanda High Court issued a judgment in December 2024, confirming that scholar transport is integral to the rights to education and mandates government provision. The Court ruled that the government of South Africa is obligated to provide scholar transport to learners in the Eastern Cape, emphasising the immediate realisation of the right to basic education as enshrined in Section 29(1) of the Constitution.

Online bullying: The Commission remains concerned about the negative impact of social media on the youth. Online bullying amongst the youth emanating from social media has led to some children dropping out of school or dying by suicide.

Intervention: The Commission released a Social Media Charter to help the youth to equip themselves against bullying and the consequences of violating others’ rights on social media. The Commission’s provincial offices continue to conduct awareness-raising initiatives in schools.

The Commission has also established the National Question and Anti-Racism Expert Advisory Committee as well as the Diversity and Sensitisation Expert Advisory Committee, made up of community activists, researchers, diversity experts, youth leaders and faith-based leaders to regularly advise it on systemic anti-racist and diversity enhancing measures and policies that society could adopt to counter institutionalised and structural racism and discriminatory attitudes towards forging a humane society where everyone feels a sense of belongingness. Throughout the course of the 2024/2025 financial year, the Commission set up Social Harmony through National Effort (SHiNE clubs) in TVET colleges. These clubs together with the expert committees convene dialogues on ‘the resolution of the national question’ to guide the Commission’s recently launch 6-year national campaign focusing on Promoting a Culture of Human Rights and Social Harmony through the Resolution of the National Question. In line with this campaign, the Commission welcomes the recently announced Commission of inquiry to investigate delays in the investigation of TRC cases. We hope this commission will assist in bringing closure to families that still have many questions about the killing and enforced disappearance of their children in the wake of the 1976 Youth Uprising.

The Commission recently held a roundtable discussion to look into discrimination faced by the Rastafari community. Rastafari youth feel discriminated that school policies don’t accommodate them. Plans are underway to look at the broader intervention to address the systemic issue.

Intersex youth continue to face many challenges in society, including stigma,  “conversion” practices, and discrimination and marginalisation. This Pride Month the Commission will launch the report: Intersex Children: A Guide to Parents.  

Other notable interventions on the youth are available on the website https://www.sahrc.org.za/construction-site/index.php/publications

To mark this year’s National Youth Day, the Commission is embarking on a series on human rights awareness and promotion activities, scheduled as per below:

 
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