Education report set for review
THE PRESIDENTIAL fiscal committee would convene soon to interrogate the financial implications of the report on the commission of inquiry into higher education, Communications Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said yesterday.
Addressing the media at the post-cabinet briefing, Kubayi said the Department of Higher Education and Training would also review relevant policies and legislation where necessary.
However, she would not be drawn into discussing the report.
“We would want to allow the report to be released,” Kubayi said, adding that the cabinet had been briefed on it.
“We are looking at the report into how to fund education going forward,” she said. “The presidential fiscal committee needs to look at the costing.”
The commission was established in January last year after protests at higher learning institutions nationwide.
There have been calls to release the report to help institutions determine their fee increases for next year.
On Wednesday, the parliamentary portfolio committee on higher education and training was concerned about the potential consequences of delays in releasing the report.
Committee chairwoman Connie September said it would have been ideal if this had happened expeditiously.
“It serves no purpose to keep society in suspense over what the commission found.
“Also, it is a wrong approach to allow a situation where the report comes in drips, through unnecessary leaks in the media,” September said.
Kubayi said President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman would communicate when the report would be released.
“The report will hopefully be released next week. There was an intention to release it this week,” she said.
Kubayi also said the cabinet condemned the blocking of roads, display of past symbols of oppression and destruction of national symbols in the Black Monday protests against farm murders.
“We felt the marches are taking us back instead of enhancing social cohesion.”
Kubayi called on all citizens to work together to ensure South Africa became and remained a non-racial society.