Infrastructure rundown as numbers soar
UNIVERSITY enrolments have almost doubled in 18 years, but funding has not kept up and tertiary infrastructure at South African varsities is falling apart.
Despite a bold ambition of having 10-million people obtain bachelor degrees by 2030, the National Development Plan — the country’s policy blueprint document — concedes that the challenges to achieving this objective are many.
“Enrolments have almost doubled in 18 years, yet funding has not kept up, resulting in slow growth in the number of university lecturers, inadequate student accommodation, creaking university infrastructure and equipment shortages,” reads the document.
At its 2007 elective conference in Polokwane, the African National Congress (ANC) resolved to phase in free basic education to the poor. Five years later in Mangaung, the party said poverty should not be an impediment to deserving students accessing tertiary education, especially at undergraduate level.
The ANC had set last year as the deadline to implement the plan. In 2012 the party called for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to be strengthened. But at its national general council meeting two weeks ago, the party conceded progress had been slow and called for resolutions to be “fast-tracked”.
ANC portfolio committee on higher education chairwoman Yvonne Phosa said it had become clear funding was not enough. She would not be drawn on her party’s policy position and why it had failed to implement resolutions taken in Polokwane or Mangaung.
Democratic Alliance spokeswoman on higher education Belinda Bozzoli said yesterday the tertiary funding framework was not adequate. Both short- and longerterm funding solutions were required, and she hoped tomorrow’s medium-term budget policy statement would provide some clarity on the issue.
Two years ago, a ministerial review of varsity funding noted SA was underspending on tertiary institutions compared to its peers on the continent. According to 2011 data in the review, SA spent 0.75% of its gross domestic product on universities, Africa’s average was 0.78% and for the rest of the world it was 0.84%.
The review also showed that state funding per full-time enrolled student fell 1.1% between 2000 and 2010, while tuition fees rose 2.5%.
The state allocates R9bn a year to NSFAS, while operating subsidies to the SA’s 26 universities total
Enrolments have almost doubled in 18 years, yet funding has not kept up, resulting in slow growth
R72bn over three years.
The University of Cape Town said subsidies — half its income — went up 3% while its operating costs rose 7% to 8%. The bulk of its expenses were made up of personnel costs, which increased from R1bn in 2010 to R1.5bn last year.
The University of the Witwatersrand’s staff bill was about 55% of its budget last year — R1.4bn was spent on academic and professional staff, R1bn on other personnel.
Rhodes received R407m in subsidies and grants last year, representing a 10% increase compared to the 2013 allocation. This figure is 40% of its R1bn annual expenses.