COSAS
The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) was founded in 1979 following the student uprising of 16 June, 1976. This bold step, which took place within the context of heightened oppression, signalled the introduction of ANC aligned open mobilisation in the country, with such formations as AZASO and the UDF subsequently coming into existence. Inspired by the slogan “each one teach one’’, COSAS became an army of disciplined young militants whose unrelenting commitment and energy would see them lead such popular campaigns as the Education Charter Campaign (jointly with AZASO) of 1982 and many others.
COSAS continues to mobilise learners in the new democratic dispensation, albeit with a new set of objectives. With the move to bring about participatory democracy in our schools, high school learners are challenged to acquire the necessary capacity to enable them to be constructive participants in the process. This, together with such issues as a high dropout rate, schoolgirl pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, make up the new set of challenges confronting the organisation.
SASCO
The South African Students’ Congress (SASCO) came into being in 1991 as a result of a merger between the then National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) and the South African National Students’ Congress (SANSCO). This merger was of immense symbolic significance as it brought together a white dominated student organisation (NUSAS) and the predominantly African SANSCO before the official ending of apartheid. The two organisations collectively brought together decades of student mobilisation, with NUSAS established in 1924 and AZASO, an earlier name used for SANSCO, in 1979.
SASCO is a leading student organisation in tertiary institutions, with significant presence in Student Representative Councils (SRCs) throughout the country. Critical interventions such as the formation of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS, previously TEFSA) and the continuing battle to increase the sustained participation of poor students in the higher education landscape (#FeesMustFall) are some of the credits the organisation can claim.
