Abstract:
Much has been written about the Fees Must Fall Movement that took place in South
Africa over last two years. These written pieces were often through the lenses of the
media, opinion pieces and social media commentary. These articles often focus on
the institutional damage, the violence, the widespread protests and the governmental
effect and involvement – the core issue at hand - the ever increasing higher
education Fees in South African.
These written pieces have focused on many sides of the debate, with media and
thought leaders choosing to look at the impact on the students itself, or the impact of
governments’ way of addressing the issue, or how the institutions themselves are
dealing with the issue and who are what forces are at play in this rising issue. As a
result, based on the aforementioned information, an opportunity to explore the
impact that Fees Must Fall has had on, in particular, the University of Cape Town
(UCT) has been identified.
This research report focusses on the impact of a movement like Fees Must Fall has
had on UCT and seeks to explore the brand health impact. The research thus is
considered an exploratory study that uses in-depth interviews using qualitative
research. The data from the research was analysed in depth by the researcher.
