COST OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
STEVEN FRIEDMAN: Let the debate be about what’s good for the country
Zuma’s eagerness to portray himself as a champion of student activism could be good news for the poor
If you want people to oppose a proposal, get President Jacob Zuma to endorse it. A reported plan by the president to spend billions the country cannot afford to fund free university for all has sparked a frenzy of fear. As information leaked out, it turned out that this was not quite what he has in mind and that the plan is not a done deal. Reports say he wants free higher education for people in households earning below R350,000 a year. He has not yet got his way because Treasury studies show it can only be done by raising tax or cutting back on necessities such as social grants. The plan was surely leaked by people in the government who want to stop it, which means the battle it has triggered is not over. There are good reasons to oppose the plan. While funding is needed for students who have the brains for higher education but not the money, R30,000 a month sets the bar way too high: it is hardly a poverty income.In addition, the plan cannot be funded without cutting services or ...
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