The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) is an anti-apartheid student organisation established in 1979 in the wake of the June 16 Soweto Uprisings in 1976 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Background

COSAS was formed in June 1979 after the

South African Students' Movement The South African Students' Movement (SASM) was an anti-apartheid political organisation of South African school students, best known for its role in the 1976 Soweto uprising. By 1976 it was strongly identified with the Black Consciousness Mo ...

was banned in 1977. It set out to organise black students at secondary, night, technical and teacher training schools as well as correspondence colleges. The COSAS was formed from exile by President

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and activist who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Childhood Oliver Tambo was ...

and COSAS's first president was Ephraim Mogale. In its first two years COSAS took up two commemorative campaigns that authorities saw as

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

-supporting: the 1979 hanging of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) guerrilla

Solomon Mahlangu Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu (10 July 1956 – 6 April 1979) was a South African freedom fighter, struggle activist and operative of the African National Congress (ANC) militant wing, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). He was convicted for his part in the murder ...

and the centenary of the Zulu victory over British troops at Isandhlwana. In 1982, COSAS adopted the theme "Student-worker action" and promoted the formation of youth congresses to serve the interests of young workers and unemployed youth. The organization provided support to striking workers and community struggles around issues such as transport increases, rent hikes and the like. In 1983, the COSAS welcomed the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and played a key role in the formation of the regional UDF structures in all of the provinces. It saw the UDF as representing a common platform to fight for a free and democratic South Africa. Throughout the 1980s, under the banner of COSAS, students staged a variety of resistance tactics like boycotts and strikes. In Cradock, Eastern Cape students from seven schools boycotted the transfer of

Matthew Goniwe Matthew Goniwe OLS (27 December 1947 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African Police in 1985. Early years Goniwe was the youngest of eight children. His parents, ...

, a teacher and

anti-apartheid activist Several independent sectors of South African society opposed apartheid through various means, including social movements, passive resistance, and guerrilla warfare. Mass action against the ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with So ...

who was later murdered by apartheid security forces. COSAS's current president is Thabang Mokoena. COSAS has the stated goal of uniting and representing South African students of poor and disadvantaged backgrounds at "the Pre-Tertiary Level". The COSAS motto is “Each One Teach One”.

References

{{Authority control Anti-apartheid organisations Civic and political organisations based in Johannesburg Student organisations in South Africa