Zuma announces free higher education
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba says funding details will be announced in the budget
President Jacob Zuma has announced that government will introduce fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor and working-class undergraduate students. This will start in 2018 for first-year students at public universities and be phased in over five years. The announcement comes on the day the ANC’s 54th national conference is set to start in Nasrec, Johannesburg, where Zuma’s successor will be elected. Zuma’s announcement follows the release of the Heher Commission report last month. However, it differs from what was recommended by the commission – that all undergraduate and postgraduate students be funded through a cost-sharing model of government-guaranteed, income-contingent loans sourced from commercial banks. The definition of poor and working-class students will now refer to “currently enrolled TVET [technical and vocational education and training] colleges or university students from South African households with a combined annual income of up to R350,000” b...
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