CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 01: An activist demonstrates during the University of Cape Town (UCT) students meeting on November 01, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. More than 1 000 students gathered at the Jameson Plaza to discuss issues of free education.
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 01: An activist demonstrates during the University of Cape Town (UCT) students meeting on November 01, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. More than 1 000 students gathered at the Jameson Plaza to discuss issues of free education.
Jacob Zuma’s highly anticipated Fees Commission report was released at midday, and shed some light on the economic future of students. For those hoping that ‘fees would fall’, it turned out to be a rather damp squib.
Although Zuma has said registration fees will be scrapped for university students, he has effectively declared that it will still be a personal investment to enroll in tertiary education. It seems like his push for free education has hit a stumbling block
The report details that loans won’t just be repayable to government. Should these new proposals get the go-ahead, students will be subject to an ‘Income Loan Contingent’ repayment plan:
The state will either purchase these loans, goes the #FeesCommission proposal, or guarantee repayment, and subject to the relevant changes in law, repayment would be collected through the income tax system run by the revenue service SARS @eNCA
— Erin Bates (@ermbates) November 13, 2017
The Fees Commission Report outlined what the model would include. Part of the 12-point plan makes allowances for income thresholds – so if a graduate isn’t making a certain amount of money when they find employment, they won’t have to start their loan repayments. Other features of the ICL includes:
The Fees Commission also concluded that 1% of the country’s GDP must go towards higher education. They are also planning to increase student accommodation, in a programme which would prioritise ‘historically disadvantaged students’.
It perhaps not the result our university pupils were hoping for. However, there are a few more things that have gone in their favour. They might have to call this a draw.