ANC wants free higher education

THE ANC wants the government to provide free higher education to poor students from next year.

The lekgotla of the ruling party’s national executive committee‚ which took place at the weekend in Tshwane‚ wants the government’s 2018 budget to include full subsidies for qualifying first-year students whose families earn a gross income of R150 000 or less per year.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said the meeting‚ which took place ahead of this week’s cabinet lekgotla‚ also proposed a combination of grants and affordable loans for students who come from families with a gross annual income of between R150 000 and R600 000.

“We think if we can introduce this for the first-year students in 2018‚ we’ll be beginning to phase in fee-free education at institutions of higher learning for students from poor households,” Mantashe said.

“Students will be required to maintain adequate academic performance. That is the condition.”

The proposal comes a month before the Heher Commission is due to table its report on the feasibility of free higher education.

Most of the decisions the meeting took about the economy were a rehash of its old proposals. It discussed and supported the 14-point action plan that Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba developed in response to the recession.