In December 2017, President Jacob Zuma announced that he had studied the Heher Commission Report and delivered a landmark decision. President Zuma affirmed Government’s commitment to continue investing in education and training through bursaries and subsidies for children of the poor and working class people.
This windfall will address funding needs based upon agreed enrollment targets in the public university and TVET sectors.
President Zuma announced that Government will increase subsidies to universities from 0.68% to 1% of the Gross Domestic Product over the next five years commencing in the 2018 academic year. Finely translated, the increase means Government will absorb tuition fee increment on behalf of students. This benefit is exclusive for students from households earning a gross annual income of up to R600 000.
Universities will adjust their fees to a maximum of 8% on the 2017 fees. By the way, all university students will be expected to pay fee increases up to a maximum of 8%. Students from households earning an income not exceeding R600 000 per annum will not be affected by the increases. Government will foot the bill through a gap grant funding.
To benefit, students will have to apply for the gap grant funding through their university during registration. Simply put, university students from families with a gross household income not exceeding R600 000 per annum will be paying 2017 prices for 2018 fees.
University students from families earning a gross income of up to R350 000 per annum, will access bursaries and subsidies administered by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to fund their full cost of study. The threshold of R350 000 gross household income per annum is new and only applicable to first time university students in 2018. All students who qualify for NSFAS funding, both first year and continuing students, will not be required to pay registration fees. The NSFAS will pay the fee on their behalf.
The current funding model in the TVET sector allows colleges to charge fees to a maximum of 20% of the programme costs a student would enroll for. Government funds the 80% of the costs by paying colleges in the form of subsidies. Annual fees increment in TVET colleges is capped at 10%. Previously, students paid the 20% as a tuition fee funded either from their own sources or through a NSFAS grant, if they qualified. This effectively means that colleges will be fully funded for their approved enrollment plans.
For 2018, Government will absorb the tuition fee increment on behalf of TVET students from households earning up to R600 000 a year. Students from families with a gross household income of up to R350 000 per annum may be eligible for subsidized accommodation and living costs including meals, or transport. There is a qualifying criteria that will be explained to them when they apply for this benefit.
The announcements are viewed as Government’s fulfillment of its long-term policy objective. The objective is to provide fully subsidized free higher education and training for poor, working class South African undergraduate university, and TVET college students.
Some commentators hail this move as an appropriate response to recent protests by students for a fee free education and training. It is seen as a catalyst to realise the objective of building a capable and skilled workforce that will actively participate in and benefit the economic growth of the country. It is viewed also as an important part of a developmental state in line with the National Development Plan.
The big question, according to opposing views, is whether government’s pockets are sufficiently deep to achieve this seemingly ambitious model.
Important to President Zuma however, education is something closer to his heart and a legacy he wants to leave behind. As the man says himself, he has not seen much of a classroom and he will not wish that on anyone. In fact, if he had it his way, free education would be a thing of the past and he would be talking about free compulsory education. As his term of office comes to an end, he would like to see government and the ANC move beyond free education and to move faster to achieve free compulsory education.
