Problems and Purpose

A Social media outrage started after the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau proposed a draft amendment on the 31st of July 2025 that would be added to the National Credit Act of 2005, which included the submission of student debt by the universities to the credit bureaus (Kamko, 2025, n.p). The draft was then submitted to the government gazette for public comments on the 13th of August 2025. The students, student organisations, civil society groups and ordinary citizens expressed concerns that this draft would result in students with outstanding fees being blacklisted, leading to the inability to get jobs, housing and even future loans because of being unable to pay university fees (Moloi, 2025, n.p).

More concerns about the draft were that it could result in more structural inequality, as most people affected by the student debt issue are marginalised groups. The outrage was more than just a fight against being financially excluded, but fighting for those less fortunate, “who already face barriers in accessing higher education” (Moloi, 2025, n.p). The social media outrage and submission on the government gazette demonstrated citizens’ participation, responsiveness and transparency. The purpose of the petitions and social media campaigns was to fight against what could result in worsening structural inequality and the fear of being blacklisted.

Background History and Context

The prime minister of the apartheid government and one of the curators of the apartheid bill, the Bantu Education Act of 1953, was Hendrick Verwoerd. The act promoted the idea of separation of white and black schools, which resulted in black schools having insufficient funding for education resources, overpopulation and the black learners were taught by unqualified teachers. The school curriculum was taught in learners' mother tongue, but it included classes for English and Afrikaans. The Bantu education system was aimed at training learners for manual labour and unskilled jobs, which was put in place for black people “Instruction was mandated in needlework (for girls), handicraft, planting, and soil conservation as well as in arithmetic, social studies, and Christian religion”(Bauer, 2025). The syllabus of the Bantu education highlighted compliance and mechanical studying rather than focusing on maths and science for black students. The white schools had better access to resources, more qualified educators and a more comprehensive syllabus for learners. White, African, Indian and Colored learners attend different schools and a separate curriculum. In South Africa, education was used as an aid for race and to defeat disagreements in regards to the Bantu policy. In higher education, segregation began in 1959. Black young students had little to no access to tertiary establishments, while others were able to fight against all odds and go to universities; they were frequently watched and possibly faced political biases. In the 21st century, the Student debt crisis is the main challenge for university students. Many students are faced with the challenge of not being able to register or graduate because of the historic debts.

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

Petitions and the email submissions to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition during the public comment period about the amendment draft were utilised. Petitions were created under the Fighting For Better organisation by Sabelo Chalufu on the Change.org website during the social media outrage. The petition was shared throughout the social media platforms, such as X, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp. The South African Youth utilised the democratic transparency in using the public comment by submitting more than 20,000 emails to the Department in opposition to the draft. The petitions received more than 190,000 signatures opposing the amendment draft, listing one of the key reasons for the rejection is that the “proposed substitution of Regulation 18 to include Sub-regulation (7)(e) education institutions. This amendment, if retained, would permit the blacklisting of students with unpaid debts held by educational institutions” (Chalufu, 2025, n.p). Further stating that the continuation of the draft would result in extreme and unequal effects on the marginalised groups of young people. The blacklisting of the students could impact not only their financial stability but also the unemployment rate of South Africa. With support from political parties such as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and African National Youth League (ANCYL), stating that the draft is “anti-poor and anti-youth”. To gain more awareness and traction among the South African citizens, and through WhatsApp broadcasting, people were able to engage and participate against the draft through email submissions and the petition, and through Social media protesting, calling out the DTIC. The support from the accounts with big following also raised awareness surrounding the draft, Shaka Zulu (@_ shwabade_) stating that even ordinary citizens, not only students should email the DTIC to reject the amendment draft, using the formal email [email protected], this post alone gained almost 12 thousand likes and 664 thousand views on X with TV, radio host and Dj, Mpumi Mlambo in support.

On the 11 of September 2025, the NCA amendment draft was withdrawn due to the overwhelming response from the citizens. Through citizens’ participation, South Africa was able to face off and win against the government entity through participation and responsiveness from the government, which demonstrated a good quality of democracy. As stated by the DTIC, the reason behind the drafting of the amendment was to increase funding for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The petition was not funded by any organisation or entities; it was organised by the student activist, Sabelo Chalufu, with supporting voices such as Sihle Lonzi MP, who is under the Economic Freedom Fighters and Ms Zingisa Mase (Call_Her_Ziggy_ on X), who is stated by Chalufu on the charge.org website that many knew about the petition because of her, she raised awareness.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

Public comment was opened to the citizens of South Africa to oppose or leave a comment about the amendment draft bill. The submissions were sent to the formal email of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. According to the media outlets, such as News24, SABC news and the Daily Maverick, 190 802 people participated in opposing the draft through the change.org petition created by Mr Sabelo Chalufu, who is the OBO petition signatories. Social media activism played a significant part in demonstrating citizen participation through using social media as a tool to bring awareness to the issue surrounding the student debt proposed amendment drafted by the DTIC. The social media hashtags that were used include #HandsOffStudents, #TauMustFall and #StudentDebtCrisis. As stated by Mamabolo (2024), social media campaigns often shape and report the political agenda and alternatives. Political organisations, such as the Economic Freedom Fighters, opposed the student debt amendment draft, posing it as “ a cruel attack on poor youth” (Ntanzi, 2025). The ANCYL rejected the notion, stating that the move was “Anti-poor and anti-youth” (Nozulela, 2025). It will hold in financial struggle for the South African youth and states that the draft would increase youth unemployment. Social media activism, petitions, public comments and the opposing political parties demonstrated the Citizens’ participation theory; people were able to participate in decision-making policies that shape their lives, utilising social media to advocate, protest and increase awareness regarding the student draft regulations throughout the comment duration. The first-hand experience of students with outstanding fees spoke out against the draft and told their stories, and how it has affected them in their lives.

Methods and Tools Used

The methods and tools that were used include the primary data, such as the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, as they were issuing statements and press releases by Minister Parks Tau. The government gazette of the draft amendment was part of the primary data collection, including the formal comment compliances by the public that were issued for the public to express their concerns surrounding the draft amendment, showing the importance of citizens’ participation in a democratic regime as it advocates for the voices of the community to be heard, taken into account and be able to influence the decision making process in South Africa. As stated by Mamabalo (2024, P.19), Citizens' participation is an indispensable component of credible elections and democracy. Moreover, it is both a constitutional matter and a political right enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the constitutions of most democracies. The methods and tools used during the draft amendment process are perfect examples of the citizens' participation with the use of social media platforms, such as Twitter(X) and TikTok, using hashtags such as #HandsOffstudents, #TauMustFall and #Studentdebtcrisis. The use of petitions for the public to sign in opposition to the draft amendment bill from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, helped in creating a more comprehensive awareness towards the draft because more and more people were utilising their social media platforms, including WhatsApp broadcasting, to share the information and the links for the petition and the public comment submissions.

In addition to the methods and tools used for the rejection of the student debt draft amendment was the EFF organised a peaceful march against the draft and made it known to the DTIC that this could lead to the financial exclusion of youth and students.

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau drafted an amendment on the 13th of August 2025, in the official bulletin of the government. The draft was to include the educational debts owed to the credit collectors, which allows the universities to submit the students’ debts to the credit bureaus. According to Wyngaardt (2025, n.p), “The goal was to strengthen affordability checks and curb reliance on loan sharks. Moreover, Minister Parks Tau emphasised that the focus remains on micro, small, and medium enterprises. He insists the changes promote economic growth for underserved communities. The government platform was opened for public comments, and it was closed on the 12th of September 2025”(n.p). It was open for 30 days for the public to oppose or share comments surrounding the amendment draft. However, During the public comment period, Student activists such as Sabelo Chalufa and Sihle Lonzi of the EFF youth command and other X accounts with large following raised awareness the draft, which resulted in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition receiving an overwhelming amount of emails which is more than 20 000 email submissions opposing to the draft amendment just before the closing the date of the email submission, stated by the Minister Parks Tau the majority was in the opposing side.

This process showed a powerful quality of the South African democracy in which the citizens are able to participate with the government in a meaningful way. As stated by Diamond & Morlino (2004,p.10),

“No regime can be a democracy unless it grants all of its adult citizens formal rights of political participation, including the franchise. But a good democracy must ensure that all citizens are, in fact, able to make use of these formal rights to influence the decision-making process: to vote, to organise, to assemble, to protest, and to lobby for their interests. Concerning participation, democratic quality is high when we in fact observe extensive citizen participation not only through voting but in the life of political parties and civil society organizations, in the discussion of public policy issues, in communicating with and demanding accountability from elected representatives, in monitoring the conduct of public office-holders, and in direct engagement with public issues at the local community level”.

After seeing the reaction from the citizens, the Minister stated that they will initiate a new strategy to raise finance for the MSMEs while protecting the students from the credit bureaus. The Minister stated that the draft was aimed at measures to strengthen consumer protections, enhance the way credit bureaus handle customer information, and improve affordability assessments. He stated that it was not aimed at the student debts, with the Department's spokesperson addressing that the “Minister will engage stakeholders to clarify this process and allay any fears that this process may prejudice the most vulnerable in our society” (Mtembu, 2025,n.p).

The student activist Sabelo Chalufu, under the Fighting For Better organisation, created a petition, which aimed at rejecting the draft regulation impacting the student debts. He wanted the withdrawal of particular amendment clauses under Regulation 18(7) (e). The Minister’s spokesperson beforehand had stated that “all inputs that are made during the public participation process are considered before finalising the regulations”(Mtembu, 2025, n.p). However, Chalufu stated that the government's pledges fall to nothing because the regulation clearly states that the students are facing bias and at risk of being blacklisted by money-hungry debt collectors. The petition received more than 190,000 signatures in agreement that the draft amendment would put students with outstanding fees at high risk of being sent to the credit bureaus and possibly being blacklisted. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) student command released declarations that they are in opposition to the draft amendment, alongside the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), stating that the overall reasoning behind the draft is that it shows signs of unfairness towards the marginalised and the youth altogether. In addition, the EFF member of the parliament, Sihle Lonzi, stated on his X account that the parliament should meet to discuss the draft and to promote a replacement, which was the student debt cancellation bill created in 2024, aimed at removing financial strains that stop students from getting into universities and jobs. Social media campaigns, petitions and the public comment period are a big point of citizens' participation in the draft amendment reaction.

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

Influence

The involvement of social media brought more attention to the draft amendment bill. More and more people became aware of what the draft can mean to the students in South Africa. Twitter (X) played a huge influential role in bringing awareness to the draft to sharing of the draft regulation and the opening of the public comment period led to citizens participating in email submissions to oppose the drafting of the bill to the National Credit Act of 2005 by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, For example, the usage of hashtags (#TauMustFall and #NoToBlacklisting) between Tiktok and X showed the importance of citizens participation. Student activism was in full force as it advocated against the draft alongside the youth political parties, such as the EFF Student Command, the ANC youth league and the SAUS, showcasing that youth activism when advocating for the same interest can result in the changing and influencing of the policy. The student debt crisis discourse raised a more concerning need for discussions surrounding the systematic inequality faced by marginalised groups and the youth of South Africa. More and more of those heavily affected by the outstanding fees exclusion told their stories through social media campaigns and hashtags, raising more attention to the issue at hand. The draft amendment bill that was created by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau saw an overwhelming reaction to the draft, with more citizens being against the draft, leading to him claiming that the reason behind the draft was to increase finances for MSMEs.

Outcomes

On the 11th of September 2025, just before the closing of the public comment period, the Minister of DTIC Parks Tau announced that the amendment draft that was put in place was withdrawn due to the shocking reaction by the public, sending more than 20,000 emails to the National Credit Act email for public comment majority stating that it is against the draft amendment. According to Moloi (2025,n.p), the minister stated that it will focus on creating a new regulation that will serve the interests of the students while building the financials of the MSMEs. The student activist Sabelo Chalufu created a petition to oppose the amendment, and it was signed by more than 190,000 people in agreement with opposition to the draft amendment. The above picture is an example of the petition for the draft.

Affects

The students who have historical fees showed a sense of fear. If the draft amendment was successful, they would face financial exclusion in regards to universities and the inability to find jobs because they can not get their academic records and the completion certificate. The fight turned to what is called youth participation, fighting and lobbying for the same interest, as stated by Diamond and Morlino (2004). The overall outcome of the campaign became a bottom-up approach- citizens were able to influence policymaking. The campaigning showed that South Africa as a team can create a good quality democracy, where people's voices are heard and taken into account. During the opposition of the draft, the youth showed that it is an active representatives in influencing the South African democratic innovations, not as supporting characters on paper nor in reality. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition showed a good sense of democratic quality by practising one of the most important dimensions, which is the responsive dimension. After the public raised their concerns and disagreement with the amendment, it immediately withdrew the case, which speaks to the authenticity of the government because people have believed in a governance where they can share their opinions without being shut down or not heard.

Analysis and Lessons Learned

The citizens' participation theory helped in understanding the power that the citizens have in restoring and advocating for their shared interests. Citizens' engagement is important in a democratic regime as it becomes a filter for people to express what they do not like and like. It makes sure that the citizens are engaging with the government in the decision-making process. Students and activists showed that democratic practices can be demonstrated using social media campaigns, and they can have the same impact as physical protests. The youth are effective active agents of the democratic state, as they can lobby for their interests through social media campaigns, petitions and public comments from the government pages, especially interests concerning issues such as jobs, education and policy. The lesson learned from this is that people who lived through the realities of these policies must be part of the decision-making process. Petitions and social media campaigns are perfect examples that democracy is active and in quality. The take-home is that social media activism should be listed as part of civic engagement, not only to broadcast news but as a tool that practices democratic qualities, such as participation.

See Also

https://theconversation.com/south-africas-student-debt-trap-two-options-that-could-help-resolve-the-problem-262555. (English).

https://centralnews.co.za/effs-student-debt-relief-bill-seeks-to-free-300000-graduates-from-financial-exclusion/. (English).

https://gauteng.news/2025/02/13/unpaid-debt-crisis-nsfas-leaves-students/. (English).

https://sassfe.org.za/news/addressing-the-issue-of-student-debt-in-south-african-higher-education/. (English).

References

Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224.

Baum, H. (2000). Citizen Participation. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioural Sciences, 1840-1846. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/04439-9.

Central News. (2025). Trade Minister Parks Tau withdraws draft regulations on student debt listing with credit bureaus after EFF Youth Command march threat. Central News South Africa.

Diamond, L., & Morlino, L. (2004). The Quality of Democracy: An Overview. Journal of Democracy, 15, 20 - 31.

Goni, S. (2025). The crisis of outstanding fees and historical student debt in SA. SABC News.

Mamabalolo, S. (2024). Democracy, Elections and Citizen Participation. The South African Experience. Journal of African Elections. Volume 23 No 1.

Meleni, P. (2024). Addressing the issue of student debt in South African higher education. SASSFE.

Mtembu, X. (2025). Fiery storm as DTIC’s draft credit regulations heighten student debt crisis fears. The Star.

Ntanzi, H. (2025). EFF slams a draft regulation that will report student debt to credit bureaus as a ‘cruel attack’ on poor youth. Cape Times.

Nozulela, M. (2025). Unpaid debt: NSFAS leaves students struggling. Student Survival 2025. IOL.

External Links

https://sundayworld.co.za/business/minister-parks-tau-withdraws-controversial-draft-credit-regulations/

https://centralnews.co.za/trade-minister-parks-tau-withdraws-draft-regulations-on-student-debt-listing-with-credit-bureaus-after-eff-youth-command-march-threat/

https://capetown.today/the-enduring-impact-of-student-debt-nsfas-and-the-struggle-for-equity-in-south-african-universities/

https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/credit-rule-row-dtic-insists-students-are-not-the-target/