EDITORIAL: From free fees to free fall
SA could be taken even further down the junk scale if this is seen as the beginning of a series of raids on the public purse
Is President Jacob Zuma’s determination to force through free higher education a first step towards a government that prints money to pay for spending it cannot afford? That’s one of the many disturbing questions raised by reports that the president plans to introduce fee-free education in 2018, at an additional cost of R40bn for the year, against the advice of the Treasury, as well as of the Heher commission on higher education funding, which Zuma himself appointed. Inexplicably, too, the president’s plans come as universities experience their quietest end-of-year period in three years, with students at almost all of SA’s campuses writing exams as scheduled and few signs of the #FeesMustFall protests seen in previous Octobers. Campuses have generally been quiet, even though some universities have announced fee increases of 8% for 2018 and despite the leaked recommendations of the Heher commission, which has proposed a more sensible and sustainable funding regime than simply dishing...
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