Students who come from homes with incomes above R600‚000 a year are liable for increases in fees at the University of Cape Town in 2017. This is an 8% general increase in tuition fees and a 10% increase in accommodation fees.
The UCT Council noted that for these students‚ since there was no increase in fees in 2016‚ this in effect amounts to a 4% increase per year for tuition and a 5% increase per year for accommodation and meals.
Students from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will also face an 8% increase. This rises to a 10% fee increase for students from outside the SADC.
KZN university increases fees by 8%
Qualifying students from families with incomes less than R600‚000 will not face any increase in tuition or accommodation costs in 2017.
The university said it was also committed to continuing financial aid support for students in the so-called “missing middle“.
The council asserted: “No student accepted on academic grounds will be prevented from studying at UCT for reasons of affordability if they fall into this income group.”
“In addition‚ those qualifying students who are in private accommodation will receive an increase of 10% in their financial aid allowances to cover expected rental increases. Those in self-catering residences will receive an increase of 10% in food allowances to reflect the inflation in food prices.”
The Council said that the Department of Higher Education and Training has committed to providing a grant to each eligible student — National Student Financial Aid Scheme [NSFAS] funded and “missing middle” - to offset an 8% increase in the tuition and university accommodation fees while UCT will provide an increased financial aid package to eligible students to cover an additional 2% of their accommodation and meal costs‚ which will not be covered by the government grant.
“This means that students on financial aid will not have to pay more than their expected family contribution (EFC)‚ which has been unchanged since 2015.
“Students who are funded by NSFAS will automatically qualify for funding to cover the fee increase‚ while the process to determine qualifying missing-middle students is still under discussion and will be communicated as soon as possible...”
The university said several factors influenced the increases. These included inflation‚ salary increases‚ insourcing costs‚ exchange-rate devaluation impacting on libraries and laboratories‚ and rates and utility increases.
“In the case of residences‚ food inflation at over 11% and insourcing are major cost drivers. But‚ in addition‚ after some years of making a loss in the residence system‚ we are in the middle of a multi-year adjustment plan which requires incremental increases in income above inflation. This is essential in order to pay back loans and to enable us to build a new residence to alleviate the accommodation crisis (like the crisis we experienced in early 2016).”
The Chair of Council‚ Sipho Pityana‚ reiterated the Council and management’s shared commitment to making higher education more affordable.
“We know the issue of fee-free education is most prominent at present. It is exercising all our minds and much work is being done to find sustainable solutions. We increase the fees reluctantly‚ but with current government subsidies available to us‚ we have no choice. If we do not increase fees‚ we simply won’t be able to deliver at the same level. We are very pleased‚ however‚ that we are able to protect the poor and missing-middle students from any increases.”
- For the first time in 2017‚ first-year students who receive funding from the NSFAS will be given free laptop computers for use at the university.
UCT hikes 2017 fees for 'rich' and international students
Students who come from homes with incomes above R600‚000 a year are liable for increases in fees at the University of Cape Town in 2017. This is an 8% general increase in tuition fees and a 10% increase in accommodation fees.
The UCT Council noted that for these students‚ since there was no increase in fees in 2016‚ this in effect amounts to a 4% increase per year for tuition and a 5% increase per year for accommodation and meals.
Students from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will also face an 8% increase. This rises to a 10% fee increase for students from outside the SADC.
KZN university increases fees by 8%
Qualifying students from families with incomes less than R600‚000 will not face any increase in tuition or accommodation costs in 2017.
The university said it was also committed to continuing financial aid support for students in the so-called “missing middle“.
The council asserted: “No student accepted on academic grounds will be prevented from studying at UCT for reasons of affordability if they fall into this income group.”
“In addition‚ those qualifying students who are in private accommodation will receive an increase of 10% in their financial aid allowances to cover expected rental increases. Those in self-catering residences will receive an increase of 10% in food allowances to reflect the inflation in food prices.”
The Council said that the Department of Higher Education and Training has committed to providing a grant to each eligible student — National Student Financial Aid Scheme [NSFAS] funded and “missing middle” - to offset an 8% increase in the tuition and university accommodation fees while UCT will provide an increased financial aid package to eligible students to cover an additional 2% of their accommodation and meal costs‚ which will not be covered by the government grant.
“This means that students on financial aid will not have to pay more than their expected family contribution (EFC)‚ which has been unchanged since 2015.
“Students who are funded by NSFAS will automatically qualify for funding to cover the fee increase‚ while the process to determine qualifying missing-middle students is still under discussion and will be communicated as soon as possible...”
The university said several factors influenced the increases. These included inflation‚ salary increases‚ insourcing costs‚ exchange-rate devaluation impacting on libraries and laboratories‚ and rates and utility increases.
“In the case of residences‚ food inflation at over 11% and insourcing are major cost drivers. But‚ in addition‚ after some years of making a loss in the residence system‚ we are in the middle of a multi-year adjustment plan which requires incremental increases in income above inflation. This is essential in order to pay back loans and to enable us to build a new residence to alleviate the accommodation crisis (like the crisis we experienced in early 2016).”
The Chair of Council‚ Sipho Pityana‚ reiterated the Council and management’s shared commitment to making higher education more affordable.
“We know the issue of fee-free education is most prominent at present. It is exercising all our minds and much work is being done to find sustainable solutions. We increase the fees reluctantly‚ but with current government subsidies available to us‚ we have no choice. If we do not increase fees‚ we simply won’t be able to deliver at the same level. We are very pleased‚ however‚ that we are able to protect the poor and missing-middle students from any increases.”
- For the first time in 2017‚ first-year students who receive funding from the NSFAS will be given free laptop computers for use at the university.
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