What it means: If academic lectures do not resume in a week, the entire academic year could be lost. Students around SA have continued with Fees Must Fall protests, despite the risk of not being able to complete the 2016 academic year. But, for some, it might be a price too high. The protests, which came after higher education minister Blade Nzimande’s announcement last month of a fee increase, have shut down almost every higher education institution in SA. Nzimande said institutions can decide on their own fee increases for 2017, but he recommended that these be capped at 8%. Despite the minister’s promise that poor and "missing-middle" students with a household income of R600,000 and less would be subsidised, students took to the streets. They are demanding government find the money for free education and have rejected studies to determine whether this is feasible, saying they know government can fund free education, but there is no political will to do so.
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