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STAFF REPORTER |
FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced an allocation of R32.6 billion for financial support to current bursary holders and first-year students under the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
Godongwana tabled his maiden budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
“In 2017, the government announced a policy for fee-free higher education. We are announcing an additional allocation of R32.6 billion for financial support to current bursary holders and first-year students under the National Student Financial Aid Scheme,” he said.
Godongwana indicated that further shortfalls will be funded from within the baseline of the Department of Higher Education.
The minister has commended teachers for sacrifices during the pandemic in ensuring that children get educated.
“Madam Speaker, at the height of the COVID-19 our teachers had to make tremendous sacrifices to ensure that our children get education,” said Godongwana.
Last year, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande said that the student debt is growing in the university system.
Nzimande said it is extremely worrying to note that inequitable patterns of student success still prevail.
He said this was especially true for African and coloured male students.
Adding that this category of students continues to be the least successful in the university system.
“There are four categories of affected students that have been identified. They include NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme] students, students who are recipients of other scholarships and bursaries, self-paying students – including the so-called ‘missing middle’ students, and international students,” said Nzimande.
The minister added that his department and higher education stakeholders have acknowledged that there have sometimes been delays in the processing of historic debt of NSFAS qualifying students.
He said the main challenges are linked to administrative challenges in resolving the debt.
“The Department is working with NSFAS and institutions to ensure a speedy resolution of the processing of historic debt claims,” he said.
Inside Education has previously reported that student historic debt to universities has escalated to approximately R14 billion.
Analysts say this has caused a sustainability crisis in our higher education institutions.
According to the Universities South Africa (USAf), this crisis has been ongoing for decades and that it is now time for a government-led policy process that produces a long-term, sustainable solution.
At the time, USAf’s Chief Executive Officer Professor Ahmed Bawa said student debt cannot possibly be resolved at the institutional level.
“USAf must signal now, as we did in December 2017, that the long-term sustainability of this bursary programme is of deep concern to us,” said Bawa.
-Inside Education
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