AS BY FIRE, the end of the South African university

285pp., paperback, Cape Town, 2017

Jonathan Jansen, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State, interviews 11 of the Vice-Chancellors most affected by the student protests of 2015 and 2016, examines the forces at work, why the protests turned violent, and what this means for the future of South African universities.

"The dysfunctional interactions of poorly educated electorates, anarchic, impoverished students, insurgent nationalists, short-sighted governments and corrupted states - all poorly interpreted by weak mass media - erode the foundations of university systems operating amidst pervasive economic and social injustice. Exposing the nervous system of such deep-seated misery requires a rare combination of surgical skill, courage and compassion - qualities that Jonathan Jansen, easily the country's leading expert on education at all levels, has in abundance. Anyone wanting to know why South Africa's best universities are now set to become indistinguishable from the worst simply has to engage with this chilling - superb - study." Professor Charles van Onselen, University of Pretoria

"#Feesmustfall but what must rise? This pre-eminent educationist and thinker shines a light on higher education and the student protests that rocked SA. A must read" Ferial Haffajee, journalist and newspaper editor

"This is what really happened, told with the clarity and compassion of a brilliant insider." Don Pinnock, author of "Gang Town"