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By Johnathan Paoli
The EFF has released the first draft of the Student Debt Relief Bill, 2025, a sweeping proposal to address what it calls the “structural crisis” of student debt in South Africa.
EFF MP and Higher Education Portfolio Committee member Sihle Lonzi, who is driving the Bill, described the crisis as a national emergency.
“There are more than 300,000 students who have met all their academic requirements but cannot graduate, cannot receive their certificates, because of student debt. This is not failure; this is poverty being weaponised,” Lonzi said.
The party says the Bill is not only a legislative milestone but also the continuation of its longstanding campaign for free, quality education.
The draft legislation, gazetted earlier this year, proposes the establishment of a Student Debt Relief Fund through which eligible students may apply to have their debts cancelled.
Crucially, it also seeks to compel institutions of higher learning to release qualifications to all students who have completed their academic requirements, irrespective of outstanding fees.
According to the EFF, more than 500,000 students across the country are burdened by institutional debt, preventing many from graduating or receiving their qualifications.
In 2022 alone, over 120,000 students were unable to graduate due to unpaid fees. Student debt, which stood at R16.5 billion in 2021, has ballooned further in recent years, turning higher education into a “tool of exclusion,” the party argues.
The EFF contends that the withholding of qualifications entrenches inequality, trapping young people in cycles of joblessness and debt.
“Young people were told to go to school. They did, they completed their studies, yet they cannot graduate because of the economic backgrounds they come from,” Lonzi added.
The Student Debt Relief Bill would create a state-backed Student Debt Relief Fund, empowering students who meet specific criteria to have their debts written off.
The fund would also ensure that universities and colleges are reimbursed, preventing disruptions to institutional budgets.
EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo described the Bill as “a people’s bill, grounded in the pain and suffering of students who have been excluded for too long.”
He argued that clearing debt would not only empower individuals but also stimulate the economy by allowing graduates to enter the workforce and contribute meaningfully.
“This is not simply about financial relief; it is about restoring dignity, enabling graduates to work, to specialise, to start businesses, and to participate in the economy,” Thambo said.
Public consultation on the draft Bill is now open for 30 days, with written submissions invited to Parliament.
The EFF has urged students, academics, workers, civil society organisations, and the broader public to participate in shaping the final version.
“We have exactly 30 days to unite the whole of South Africa behind this progressive Bill. This is about the future of our young people and the future of our nation,” Lonzi said, calling for a broad coalition of support.
The EFF also plans to hold nationwide consultative meetings at universities and TVET colleges in the coming weeks.
Lonzi said these engagements will not only refine the legislation but also mobilise public pressure ahead of its formal tabling in Parliament.
Opposition parties are expected to scrutinise the Bill.
The African National Congress has historically resisted blanket debt cancellation, favouring schemes like NSFAS, while the DA has argued for a means-tested model to assist only the poorest students.
The EFF rejects these alternatives, insisting that means-testing perpetuates exclusion.
The Bill is being positioned by the EFF as part of its broader struggle for free, decolonised education.
The party, which was instrumental in amplifying the #FeesMustFall protests of 2015–2016, says this legislation marks a critical shift from protest to policy.
If passed, the legislation could free hundreds of thousands of graduates from financial exclusion, potentially altering South Africa’s higher education landscape.
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