Mzamo Khanyile has been elected as the President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at DUT. His term of office began immediately after the election period in September and expires in the same month next year. The inaugural ceremony on Friday, 11 November at Steve Biko campus was attended by eThekwini Speaker, Cllr Logie Naidoo and DUT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ahmed C Bawa.

Speaking on the SRC’s strategy for the forthcoming year, Khanyile said, “We will shy away from the conventional orthodox of previous SRCs. Our programme of action is to respond to students’ needs. We are aware of the standing issues – accommodation and student funds. We plan to sit down with interested departments to devise a plan to alleviate the strikes. The image of the institution will be protected in this way.”

Another of the council’s mission is to “institutionalise services”. He elaborated that the institution needs to utilise its students. For example, he is of the view that students in the Faculty of Applied Sciences should be permitted to head cafeterias in the university.

Khanyile is familiar with leadership roles. He started as a deputy secretary in the SRC, he has also chaired in the DUT residence house committee, served as deputy chairperson of the African National Congress Youth League, DUT branch, and is the current secretary of the Young Communist League, Durban branch.

On the academic front, the 23 year old from Mooiriver is currently in his third year in Human Resources Management. He is a staunch believer in socialism. “I believe education should be used as a tool to redress the mishaps of the past.”

-Naledi Hlefane