Announcement due Thursday on funding fees shortfall – Nzimande

27th October 2015 By: African News Agency

Announcement due Thursday on funding fees shortfall – Nzimande

Blade Nzimande
Photo by: GovtZA

An announcement would be made on Thursday as to where government is going to find the R2.6-billion it is going to cost the fiscus to scrap university fee increases for 2016, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday.

Opening a debate on higher education transformation in the National Assembly after two weeks of nationwide student protests against fee increases, Nzimande said a high level meeting with President Jacob Zuma and Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene would determine how they will plug the funding gap.

“We are working out exactly what different sectors will contribute together with the minister of finance,” Nzimande told MPs.

Nzimande said some of the money would be “reprioritised” from other programmes within his department.