By Staff Reporter
02/11/2015
In responding to the petition handed to government by Higher Education Students, the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Mduduzi Manana said government has committed to free higher education for the poor undergraduate level and its phasing in requires urgent consideration of funding mechanisms.
The petition was handed to government by striking higher education students las Thursday, 29 October 2015, at the precincts of Parliament and requested for a response by 2 November 2015. Three matters were raised: free education, outsourcing and police brutality.
“The Minister of Finance has during the delivery of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework statement, asserted that he had requested for advices on Wealth Tax. In this connection, we will further consider radical proposals including Corporate Education Tax, increasing the skills levy and general reprioritization in government in order to fund this number one priority in the country” said Deputy Minister Manana.
He said the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), since its inception has spent R50 billion, benefiting 1.5 million student. Between 2004 and 2015, university funding has significantly improved from R9.879 billion to R30.338 billion.
In regard to the issues raised on outsourcing of services, he said the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr BE Nzimande, has appointed a Task Team to seriously scrutinize into the matter of outsourcing in the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), “you will be kept abreast of developments and progress in this regard” he said. The petition will be circulated to all Institutions of higher learning for due consideration.
On police brutality, the Deputy Minister said the matter has been referred to the Acting Commissioner of Police, General KJ Phahlane. “Nonetheless, the Department of Higher Education and Training does not have the authority to withdraw criminal charges against any students, as we did not open any charges in relation thereto. “Once charges have been preferred, it is the prosecuting authority that has the legal authority to deal with the matter.
“We note that the University of Cape Town (UCT) has withdrawn charges and urge students to respect the law and the Constitution of the Republic when engaging in protests to avert confrontation with the Security agencies and for police to exercise restraint when engaging with peaceful protesters,” he said.
He said the South Africa Government has already committed to the progressive realisation of free higher education for the poor to undergraduate level. This strategic apex priority originates from legitimate struggles by South African students. He urge students to return to classes and begin preparation for the final academic examinations whilst institutions are thrashing out these matters. The Portfolio Committee for Higher Education encouraged police to act with restraint during student protests. In the same vein, and urged students to act within the boundaries of legality in advancing their aspirations
