Urgent call for Zuma to release university fees report

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has been called on to urgently release the final report of the Fees Commission.

The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) said the findings contained in the report were crucial to the immediate future of higher education.

“We believe that it is critical that the Fees Commission Report be disseminated and discussed with all role players in higher education to clarify the policy stance of the state with regards to planned fee increments for 2018,” the lobby group’s Sibongile Malinga said.

“This will also avoid possible disruption within the sector as some universities have already started the process of announcing fee increments for 2018.”

In August, Zuma received the final report of the commission‚ established to look into the feasibility of scrapping university tuition fees. The commission was appointed by Zuma in 2015 after university campuses erupted in protests.

Tensions also boiled over at the commission‚ with some sittings being disrupted by students.

The lobby group said the continued delays in issuing the report could only lead to further policy confusion and give room to unilateral actions by university vice-chancellors and councils‚ thus precipitating another student revolt similar to 2015.