Budget 2017
EDUCATION: Student funding gets a boost
University education continues to get more support but there are calls for more funding for basic education and technical institutions
Post-school education, government’s biggest cost after servicing its debt, receives an additional R5bn on top of the R32bn extra allocated in the medium-term budget. In his budget speech, finance minister Pravin Gordhan reiterated government’s commitment last year that there will be no increase in fees for university and technical college students whose annual family income is below R600,000. All poor students who qualify for the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) will be supported. The NSFAS said this week it would be funding 10% more students this year — at about 450,000 people — using the additional funding granted in last year’s budget. Last year an additional R10.6bn over three years was added to NSFAS’s coffers.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.