Congress of South African Students

[1]: 371 [2] It set out to organise black students at secondary, night, technical and teacher training schools as well as correspondence colleges.

In its first two years COSAS took up two commemorative campaigns that authorities saw as African National Congress-supporting; the 1979 hanging of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) guerrilla Solomon Mahlangu and the centenary of the Zulu victory over British troops at Isandhlwana.

[1]: 371  The organization provided essential support to striking workers and community struggles around issues such as transport increases, rent hikes and the like.

In Cradock, Eastern Cape students from seven schools boycotted the transfer of Matthew Goniwe, a teacher and anti-apartheid activist who was later murdered by apartheid security forces.

[3] COSAS has the stated goal of uniting and representing South African students of poor and disadvantaged backgrounds at "the Pre-Tertiary Level".