The commission’s report in a nutshell
Funding the Post Schooling Education and Training sector
The commission recommended that government increase block funding to the Post School Education and Training Sector (PSET) as a whole in line with increased costs for providing quality education and infrastructure needs.
Student accomodation
The commission recommended that government adopt an affordable plan to develop more student accommodation and that historically disadvantaged institutions be prioritised.
Online and blended learning
It was recommended that government must further investigate the viability of “online and blended learning” as an alternative in addressing funding and capacity challenges facing the sector.
Funding For Technical Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) students
All students at TVET colleges should receive fully subsidised free education in the form of grants that cover their full cost.
Postgraduate students
The commission recommended that the NRF bursaries (based on merit, or any other criteria as developed by the NRF) for postgraduate students be retained and expanded when possible.
Historic debt
It was recommended that students with debt, who have since graduated, also be offered income-contingent loans (ICLs).
NSFAS
The commission recommended the participation of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in the funding of university students be replaced by the ICL system. NSFAS should be retained for the provision of the funding of all TVET students.
Funding for university students
All undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at both public and private universities and colleges, regardless of their family background, should be funded through a cost-sharing model of government guaranteed ICLs sourced from commercial banks. It was recommended that commercial banks issue government-guaranteed loans to the students, repayable by the student upon graduation and attainment of a specific income threshold.
Registration fees
It was recommended by the commission that application and registration fees be scrapped across the board.