What South Africans think about free university
Recent protests by students across South Africa have thrust tertiary education into the spotlight – with a loud call from the youth for free tertiary education.
Students across the country are engaged in protest action over the past two weeks at their respective universities, standing against proposed increases in fees for next year.
The demonstrations erupted at the University of the Witwatersrand in mid October, and quickly spread to other institutes across the country, including Stellenbosch, Rhodes and the University of Cape Town.
The protest action culminated in President Jacob Zuma committing to a zero-percent increase in fees for 2016, and task teams looking into the state of universities moving forward.
But more than a reduction in fees, students were also protesting for the promise of free tertiary education to be fulfilled in the the country.
This brought into question how this would be done – and if it could be done at all.
BusinessTech polled readers to see what they thought about the idea of free education. The poll drew over 2,000 responses – and results were split pretty evenly down the middle.
General reaction from both sides of the argument have been contrasting. Some groups believe that universities are elite institutes and need to be exceptional and paid-for.
Others, such as the protesting students and political parties such as the EFF, believe education should be free for all.
According to Higher Education Minister, Blade Nzimande, free education at a tertiary level will cost the country as much as R37 billion roll out over the next three years.
The higher education budget is currently at R41.8 billion, of which R26.2 billion is used for university subsidies and NSFAS funding.
The minister believes that there is enough money for free education – but it would have to come out of the private sector.
“There is enough money in this country. The problem is that a lot of it is in the private sector,” Nzimande said in the interview at eNCA.
Another caveat: free education would not be free for all.
“As a country we cannot afford this for everyone. Those who are wealthy must pay,” he said.
“At least we must be able to assist poor students over the years – like we have done quite impressively, to be honest – in terms of the national student financial aid scheme.”
More on education in SA
The rich must pay for university: Nzimande
SA universities owed R4.1 billion
What you need to know about university fees in South Africa
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