#RhodesMustFall 10th anniversary: Students hope for systemic changes at UCT

CAPE TOWN - As the University of Cape Town (UCT) commemorates the 10th anniversary of the #RhodesMustFall student movement, SRC president Thando Lukhele says it's concerning that current students are subjected to the same struggles as those before them.

Wednesday marks 10 years since the Cecil John Rhodes statue was removed from the university campus.

Exactly a month before then, student activist Chumani Maxwele threw faeces on the statue in protest against the lack of transformation post-apartheid.

The movement birthed similar student protests, such as #FeesMustFall, against the financial exclusion of students.

ALSO READ | Phakeng: Rhodes Must Fall movement triggered important discussions on colonialism

UCT president Thando Lukhele says she was in Grade 5 when fallism movements were at their peak in 2015.

Lukhele says while UCT has made strides in its transformation agenda, a lot still needs to happen.

"Let us think of the president of 2035, I hope they don't have to protest for the same set of issues. I hope their protest will be about cuter stuff, like having a pool on campus. But I think it's about high time we have a shift in the issues we have at the University of Cape Town."

Lukhele says conversations around decolonisation of the education system and society must to be prioritised.