The South African Students' Congress (Sasco) on Sunday called for a speedy corruption trial for African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma.

"We have confidence in the judiciary and believe that the deputy president deserves a speedy and a fair trial," Sasco secretary general Terror Yako said after a national working committee meeting in Johannesburg.

Although it has not organised any pro-Zuma rallies, Sasco believes in Zuma's innocence until proven otherwise in court.

Zuma's corruption trial starts in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on July 31.

Sasco president Mandla Seopela said the students will stand by the ANC national general council's resolution that Zuma "must be supported on the corruption issue".

The students also defended Zuma's recent suing of the media for defamation.

"Comrade JZ has a right to sue anyone he thinks trespassed against his rights," Sepela said.

He said the media also have the right to prove before the courts that they acted within the rights of the law.

Yako said Sasco welcomes debates on the state of the tripartite alliance (the ANC, South African Communist Party and Congress of South African Trade Unions), but is disturbed at the tone and the manner in which they have been conducted.

"The approach of all must be reflective of the spirit of comradeship and critical engagements and not patronage.

"The use of the media to conduct these debates poisons the content, [and] therefore degenerates the whole discussion."

Only a dynamic, critical and tolerant debate will provide sufficient to the alliance's challenges.

"As Sasco we cannot support any move to break the tripartite alliance as it is the only vehicle that can advance the cause of transformation of our country," Yako said.

Sasco went on to voice its support for the granting of powers to appoint vice-chancellors to Minister of Education Naledi Pandor, and called for accountable and transparent university councils.

Sasco has declared September student month, during which it plans to march to the Department of Education's headquarters to demand regulation of university tuition fees, no campus closures through mergers, no capping of student numbers and the extension of financial aid to Further Education and Training colleges.

It will also demand the auditing of curriculum content and an examination of the cause of unemployable graduates.

Yako said there is a need for the mergers of higher-education institutions to be reviewed. "We are aware that some institutional managers have spent much more time securing their employment contracts than securing better studying conditions for all our poor students." -- Sapa