Beyond #FeesMustFall

International students, fees and everyday agency in the era of decolonisation

Bibliographic Data

ID8944511
AuthorsP Raghuram (0000-0002-1841-5613, The Open University, corresponding author), Markus Roos Breines (0000-0001-7570-9354, The Open University), Ashley Gunter (0000-0002-0993-0955, University of South Africa)
Year2020
Volume109
Pages95-105
Publication date2020-01-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeoforum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7185 • E-ISSN: 1872-9398
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.01.002
OpenAlexW3002211647
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited61

The #FeesMustFall movement focused on the financial struggles of historically disadvantaged black students in South Africa. However, if decolonisation is to go beyond national boundaries and to incorporate pan-African visions fees must fall, not only in South Africa, but also for international students. Yet, international students and their financial situations are often overlooked in discussions over fees as they are seen as foreigners, or as privileged and seeking to reproduce advantage through international study. Although international fees cross-subsidise national students, international students are seen as an export category rather than at the level of the individual, so that the actual costs of study to the students is often ignored. This paper addresses that gap by examining how international distance education students studying at the University of South Africa (UNISA) navigate fees. We draw upon students’ narratives to highlight the proactive and reactive agency they deploy to afford and manage fee payments. These quieter registers of everyday agency around fees demonstrate the entanglement of national and international fees in higher education. In particular, we suggest that focusing on international student fees raises important questions about whether lowering fees for higher education students, one part of the decolonisation agenda, should be contained within national borders

Agency (philosophy · Decolonization · Disadvantaged · Economic growth · Economics · Higher education · International agency · International education · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Governance and Development · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Public Administration

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