Government committed to finding ‘no fees’ funding, says Nzimande
If government’s baseline allocation to universities did not increase, the number of university admissions would have to be reduced, the department of higher education and training (DHET) said on Wednesday.
“The baseline for university funding must be increased by a minimum of R2.4-billion in 2017 in order to offset the zero percent increase in 2016,” said department director-general Gwebinkundla Qonde.
Qonde, along with the Minister for Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande and his ministry, were briefing Parliament’s standing and select committees on appropriations as well as the portfolio committee on higher education on the funding implications of the zero percent university fee increase for 2016.
The minimum of R2.4-billion was needed to “maintain the current student population and programmes offered by institutions”.
“If funding for the baseline does not materialise, then growth of the system must be reduced,” said Qonde, “With dire consequences, particularly given the growing number of youth from basic education able to meet university entrance requirements.”
Qonde and Nzimande said that funding free tertiary education in 2016 and beyond presented government and the nation at large with numerous problems, but it was one the DHET was committed to seeing through.
“We are committed to finding that money,” said Nzimande.
The zero percent fee increase would create a R2.3-billion shortfall for the country’s universities.
Nzimande said wealthier universities, presumably such as the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), had offered to pay the shortfall for the first four months of 2016. Thereafter, it was agreed that funding the shortfall would be shared between government and universities.
Government was yet to announce where it would find the money to fund the shortfall.
Meanwhile, Democratic Alliance MP Belinda Bozzoli said the entire funding model of universities was a failure. “Something more fundamental needs to be done,” she said.
She added that the DHET had been “left to its own devices and has been neglected by government”.
The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Moses Mbatha said that government and the DHET were simply reactionary.
“The majority have been protesting for years and nobody ever listens to them. Maybe the problem is that when a poor black child speaks no one cares but when the likes of UCT and Wits cries, you listen.”
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation