What’s the real cost of education?
KWAZULU-Natal tertiary institutions all took part in the #FeesMustFall protest but how much does it cost to obtain a university qualification in this province?
A survey of the Universities of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Zululand (Unizulu) and Durban University of Technology (DUT) fees showed that the cost of tertiary education is no walk in the park
Unizulu has a comprehensive fee structure where all tuition costs the same.
Currently, tuition for first years costs R17 648.
There is an initial payment of R4 000 for resident students and R3 000 for non-resident students.
Registration is R902 and there is an added non statutory fee of R1 927.
Residence costs R14 851 a year while meals are an extra R12 000.
This comes to R51 328 for a student in res – and most students live on campus.
A Bachelor of Nursing is the most expensive first year course at UKZN, costing R49 180.
It costs R31 990 for a Bachelor of Technology in Nursing Science at DUT.
A Bachelor of Social Science: Geography and Environmental Management at UKZN comes second at R47 740 followed by a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science, which costs R46 700.
A Bachelor of Medicine is R44 220 and the cheapest is a Bachelor of Agricultural Management at R29 020 per year.
A Bachelor of Arts at UKZN costs R38 750 per year.
The cheapest degree in the Faculty of Humanities is a Bachelor of Education at R33 850, cheaper than DUT’s Bachelor of Education (FET) that costs R34 720.
The most expensive engineering degree is Mechanical Engineering at R40 000 at UKZN.
At DUT, the most expensive first year course is a National Diploma in Hospitality Management at R41 100 followed by Catering Management at R39 990 per year.