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Whether or not we are parents or grandparents of a university or TVET college student, & have some knowledge about the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), if we have watched any television news lately, we will be aware of tertiary students protesting.
What about, and why we don't always understand, and TV reports are usually a collection of sound bites, without in depth analysis.
So, to read last weeks article by Nico Cloete and Francois van Schalkwyk is to enter an entirely new level of understanding.
Published in the University World News Africa Edition, on 25th March 2021, you can access the full article on the following link.
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210324220438212
The authors explain how we reached the situation at registration this year:
* that NSFAS could not guarantee funding for all first year students, and
* institutions were refusing to re-register students who had outstanding debt with the institution.
Expectations were raised in 2017, when former President Zuma announced that there would be fee-free education for poor students. At the time, one didn't have to be particularly polically-savvy to understand what was really going on.
Cloete and van Schalkwyk mention the concluding recommendation of the Heher Commission set up at the time - for a system of fee payback, at a low interest rate, based upon income earned.
However, providing even more detailed context, the authors return to the 1995 post-apartheid transition, and the National Commission on Higher Education set up by President Mandela.
It is well worth your time to read this article for the detail it provides, not only on how we got here, and what has gone wrong at NSFAS, but also to raise the debate on what is our national expectation of higher education.
This is particularly relevant, since Minister Nzimande has indicated a withdrawal from funding of post-graduate studies - pushing it to the National Research Foundation (NRF).
How do we prepare for the future, and what are examples worth following - Australia and China are detailed.
Currently, the figures quoted for our situation are:
* of 1 million students commencing Grade 1,
* 550,000 reach matric,
* 400,000 achieve a pass,
* 100,000 enter university,
* 53,000 graduate after 6 years with a first degree,
(only 30% - that is less than a third - graduate in 3 years),
conclusion =
1 in 20 school entrants obtain a first degree.
Please take the time to read the full article,on the following URL:
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210324220438212
just over
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