Higher Education South Africa (Hesa), the association of university vice-chancellors, has rejected the idea of the capping of tuition-fee income by the education department. Hesa asserts that the sector’s autonomy could be at stake.
Instead, it wants a strengthening of the government’s contribution to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which provides a sliding scale of financial support to students.
Hesa undertook a study into tuition fees following discussions by the department of education to cap fee income to make university education accessible to more students.
The education ministry is concerned that tuition fees have increased at a higher rate than government’s contribution to the NSFAS.
In recent months there have been violent student protests against fee increases at a number of universities. Adding impetus to protests is a resolution at the ANC’s December 2007 policy conference in Polokwane that government progressively introduce free education for the poor up to undergraduate level.
Education Minister Naledi Pandor rejected the idea of free university education last week, emphasising that fees are here to stay.
The Hesa report says the education department’s main policy consideration is that caps be placed on the tuition fee totals raised by institutions, on condition that new funds be made available by government to lessen the burden on the loss of institutional income.
It says that other DoE ideas include:
- A review of the policy on tuition fees whereby individual institutions are free to set their own fees with no ministerial oversight or approval and that the policy be amended by placing upper limits on the levels of income collected by institutions from tuition fee payments; and
- Government block grants (subsidisation) and tuition fees be treated as a joint income stream and the minister of finance should determine, for rolling medium-term expenditure framework periods, the proportion of joint income to be raised from student fees;
These considerations signal a radical move away from the way fees are set and an erosion of universities’ freedom. South Africa’s differentiated public higher education system uses various models to set fees. Universities receive their first-stream income from government subsidies; their second-stream income from student fees; and third-stream income from investments and donor funding.
Subsidy allocations are based on four main categories, including the university’s number of full-time student registration inputs and outputs of completed qualifications. Qualifications in science and engineering are better subsidised than the humanities, while doctoral qualifications command high subsidies. No two universities receive the same subsidy.
Hesa says the capping of fees could ‘perpetuate a trend of centralising control of higher education and will negatively impact on the autonomy and flexibility of the higher education subsectorâ€.
Capping will result in diminished income, which will jeopardise universities’ research missions.
Hesa says the proposals are likely to lead to more students, but lower revenue. ‘The proposals do not show how access for the poor will be improved … Capping tuition fees will not improve access for the poor, instead it will result in making higher education cheaper for the rich.â€
It recommends that government injects extra resources into the NSFAS and that the allocation formula be reviewed to provide assistance to poor white students.
Meanwhile, Adam Habib, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, says that while free higher education is not a reality, ‘a trade-off is that a university works out its annual fee increase — say 12% — then limits the increase to 6% with the government making up for the other 6%. This will then demonstrate a gradual increase of state subsidy.â€
Dr Molapo Qhobela, deputy director general of higher education, says the DoE does not have a formal position to present to Hesa. No decision has been taken. It is assessing a range of possibilities with a view to broadening access of academically deserving students to university.
A case in point is the DoE’s launch of the Fundisa Fund last year, which supplements NSFAS. Parents contribute to a savings fund for their children’s post-school education and the government gives them bonuses.
‘We are doing lots of studies to find solutions. We are looking at viable and sustainable solutions,†said Qhobela. He said it is possible that Pandor will put out a formal position at the end of the year.