Universities need to be run as businesses
Free education and other government benefits may have come to be regarded as a right, but these constitute society’s social liabilities, writes Kobus Jonker
Governments across the globe have woven a social safety net for their citizens, a catch-all that includes assistance such as social grants, unemployment benefits, state pensions and free education. This has caused citizens not only to depend more on the state, but also to demand more. We created a system in which the state looks after its citizens much like a parent does his child — with predictable results. The state has gradually assumed the burdens and responsibilities formerly assumed by citizens and their families. Free education and other government benefits may have come to be regarded as a right, but these constitute society’s social liabilities. Because we laid the foundation for a society of citizen’s rights without providing a structure for citizens’ obligations to society, we are, technically speaking, socially bankrupt. SA is not alone in this regard. Judging by their social balance sheets, many societies are technically bankrupt — the state’s commitment to citizens is ...
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