ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of student and youth organisations in the political and ideological struggle to promote and expand revolutionary consciousness within the country and to increase participation in the national liberation struggle. Student and youth organisations were the most militant and active organisations in the mass democratic movement. Congress of South African Students (COSAS) was formed to replace the banned student movement and soon had branches in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Orange Free State, Transvaal and Natal. Although the organisation was primarily concerned with educational issues, COSAS viewed the education struggle as part of a much larger struggle against oppression and exploitation. COSAS focused attention on the organisation of students at high schools, particularly in the Eastern Cape, around such issues as the limits of compulsory education, unfair matric results, and the prohibition of students over 18 in Standard eight and Standard ten from attending schools.
