WATCH | Not enough is done to ensure growth of no-fee higher education

Not enough has been done to ensure that fee-free higher education is made possible for the masses of young people in SA according to Fees Must Fall activist and ANC member Fasiha Hassan.

Hassan, who is a member of ANC Youth League task team, was reacting to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement during his political report on Friday about ANC government's achievements in giving access to higher education.

Ramaphosa said funding for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) students from poor and working-class backgrounds rose from R21bn in 2018 to R38,6bn in 2021.

He also said the total number of students at public universities and TVET colleges rose from 580,000 to 770,000 during the same period.

Friday marked exactly five years since former president Jacob Zuma government introduced free higher education for students from poor families. NSFAS however does not include all working-class students as some are slightly above the set annual income of R350,000 per household.

Speaking to Sowetan on Saturday on the sidelines of the ANC’s 55th national elective conference in Nasrec, Johannesburg, Hassan said a lot of young people still are not able to access university due to lack of funding.

Hassan said she welcomes the increase in funding for poor students but urged the government to provide more resources to make access to higher education possible.

''Before Fees Must Fall and even after that, there was a fight for the opening up of higher education to the poor masses of people. Prior to that [Fees Must Fall], NSFAS was a loan and now it is a grant. That is a big victory for fees must fall. The reality is that higher education is chronically under-funded. We welcome the increase in funding and that more students and young people are benefitting from NSFAS in higher education. But that is a drop in the ocean. A lot needs to happen with youth development," she said.

"Lots of young people that I interact with say they lost out on an opportunity to study because they could not afford it. We still need to structurally change higher education. A lot needs to happen beyond student funding. We should focus on student success. There are far more students that need support than just covering tuition. Students need food security, accommodation and textbooks."

Hassan said most of the NSFAS students come from poor backgrounds and send home part of their stipend to help their families survive harsh economic condition they face.

"A lot of issues are not resolved. Even if we increase a small amount here and there, we have not achieved anything. We need more funding and structural intervention,’’ she added.

Ramaphosa described the expansion of access to higher education as a great achievement that will benefit the economy and the country for many years to come.

kokam@sowetan.co.za