A students’ organisation has proposed a sliding-scale model of governmental subsidisation to individual students to ensure that those who cannot afford to pay will be able to go to a higher education institution.
It also called for the abolition of application fees‚ saying this served as the first barrier of access to institutions and the right to further education.
The Students for Law and Social Justice made these submissions at the public hearings of the Fees Commission sitting in Vanderbijlpark on Friday.
“The current financial resources available to the state do not occasion an immediate shift toward fee-free further education for all‚” the organisation said in its written submissions.
It said the model proposed that those most in need were assisted by government at the justifiable expense of those wholly able to pay.
The organisation said fees were currently relatively affordable to the upper financial sectors of society‚ whether by cash payment or loan.
“Affordability is‚ however a barrier to access to the majority of prospective students and is a system that requires urgent and sustainable redress‚” it said.
The organisation said the model would entail fee-free education to those wholly unable to pay — using increased governmental expenditure on higher education coupled with reducing or removing subsidisation of those wholly able to pay.
“The sliding element of this proposal is realised in students paying varying fees contingent on their available resources.”
The organisation said fees entailed more than the costs of registration and tuition; they include‚ among other things‚ accommodation and academic materials.
“A student enrolled without the ability to live a dignified life‚ or the resources required to study fully‚ cannot be said to have equal access to education‚” it said.
The commission‚ chaired by Judge Jonathan Heher‚ was established in January to inquire into and make recommendations on the feasibility of a fee-free higher.
President Jacob Zuma appointed the commission following protests by university students last year against the high costs of university education.
Students propose sliding-scale fees so poorest can study
A students’ organisation has proposed a sliding-scale model of governmental subsidisation to individual students to ensure that those who cannot afford to pay will be able to go to a higher education institution.
It also called for the abolition of application fees‚ saying this served as the first barrier of access to institutions and the right to further education.
The Students for Law and Social Justice made these submissions at the public hearings of the Fees Commission sitting in Vanderbijlpark on Friday.
“The current financial resources available to the state do not occasion an immediate shift toward fee-free further education for all‚” the organisation said in its written submissions.
It said the model proposed that those most in need were assisted by government at the justifiable expense of those wholly able to pay.
The organisation said fees were currently relatively affordable to the upper financial sectors of society‚ whether by cash payment or loan.
“Affordability is‚ however a barrier to access to the majority of prospective students and is a system that requires urgent and sustainable redress‚” it said.
The organisation said the model would entail fee-free education to those wholly unable to pay — using increased governmental expenditure on higher education coupled with reducing or removing subsidisation of those wholly able to pay.
“The sliding element of this proposal is realised in students paying varying fees contingent on their available resources.”
The organisation said fees entailed more than the costs of registration and tuition; they include‚ among other things‚ accommodation and academic materials.
“A student enrolled without the ability to live a dignified life‚ or the resources required to study fully‚ cannot be said to have equal access to education‚” it said.
The commission‚ chaired by Judge Jonathan Heher‚ was established in January to inquire into and make recommendations on the feasibility of a fee-free higher.
President Jacob Zuma appointed the commission following protests by university students last year against the high costs of university education.
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