SA’s university funding model has to change

I AM asking this question because of the recent student protest in various South African universities.

These protests are becoming a yearly occurrence, and they, therefore, need a solution from all of us.

The question is what to do, are there practical solutions to have a permanent solution?

There are no easy answers to this question, especially when considering some of the information published by Statistics SA. The higher education studies explicitly put in context the problem faced by various higher education institutions.

If we zoom in on the StatSA report published, we can see that the tuition fees component of funding increased from 27% in 2006 to 35% in 2015, almost an 8% rise within the same period. Furthermore, the fee contribution decreased to 32% because of government intervention that saw an increase in government spending. Based on the above, we can see what additional funding to higher education institutions has done.

They had a massive impact on the fees resulting in a zero-percent increase in the year. The zero-percentage rise in University fees is an indication that if there is more funding channelled towards higher education, it can lead to zero or lower university fees.

We can learn how other countries have dealt with the problem of higher education concerning student debt. It is also interesting to note the spending patterns of higher education in different countries.

Some of the studies highlight a need to increase our government spending and private sector. An increase in financing higher education can help lower university fees charged to students and the institution's reliance on fees to be a thing of the past.

If there is no increased funding, how will we achieve the NDP goals of improving the enrolment at these institutions?

In hindsight, if we are to increase the enrolment in these institutions, we will require increased government or private sector funding. Furthermore, suppose we want to see the yearly student protests eliminated and students focusing on their core activities of studying and progressing into the world of work after completing their studies, a change has to happen to the university funding model.