Budget could yet be amended to cater for varsities
PARLIAMENT has not shut the door on amending the Budget to make way for the R2.33 billion funding shortfall in higher education.
This commitment was made by the chairman of the standing committee on appropriations, Paul Mashatile, yesterday while Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa described changes in higher education as a new dawn.
Mashatile told MPs yesterday, at the end of the meeting with departments and stakeholders, they were still going to conduct more public hearings on the medium-term Budget.
He said they were not abandoning the issue of amending it.
Opposition parties have been calling for the government to amend the Budget, through reprioritisation, to make up for the R2.33 billion shortfall.
Mashatile said they would get more figures from the Department of Higher Education for long-term funding of higher education.
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande told Parliament, during question time for ministers in the social services cluster, that the government would need an extra R37 billion for higher education in the next three years.
That was to fund all 25% of the student population who qualified for funding. That money was for universities only.
Mashatile said they would need to look at whether the 0.7% of the total budget allocated to higher education was sufficient.
Last week the National Treasury said some countries allocated 1.5% of their budgets to higher education.
Canada was one of the top spending countries when it came to university funding with 5% of its budget going to universities.
Ramaphosa, who was responding to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces yesterday, repeated President Jacob Zuma’s statement at the weekend that the government was committed to free education at universities.
Zuma told the nation that he would establish a commission of inquiry to look at the financing model of free education.
Ramaphosa told the NCOP that the government was committed to fulfilling this commitment.
There had been task teams that had looked into this matter, he said, adding that he chaired one of the inter-ministerial task teams.
He urged all stakeholders, including the private sector, to “come to the party”.
Students had given the government the opportunity to look at the funding model for higher education, through their protest.
The government had seized this opportunity and it would look at all issues raised by the students.
“The moment we are at is a new dawn, a moment that we should not lose to address the key issue.
“If there ever was a time to act it is now,” he said.
“Let us not pour cold water on this moment. It’s a new dawn, let us not dismiss it.”
Ramaphosa added that measures would have to be taken to find the money to fund higher education.