Tania Campbell, DA ward councillor and chief whip has issued a statement regarding the Ekurhuleni DA councillors’ feelings regarding the #FeesMustFall student protests currently going on at a number of universities around the country.
Thousands of students from the East Rand are affected by the university protests and the reasons behind them.
“In the DA’s day-to-day dealings with students we hear on-the-ground stories from those who don’t know where their next cent is coming from, having been stripped this year of funding opportunities for their studies, let alone where they will find the extra money for the fee increases,” she said.
”Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande conceded that funding for higher education is suffering as a result of public funds being lost to corruption and mismanagement in government.
“Until we deal decisively with these problems, universities and, ultimately students, will continue to suffer as a result.”
Campbell added that matriculants from schools in Germiston who make it through their matric exams with a university exemption should not have to be concerned with the vast sums of money it takes to get into tertiary institutions.
“The root of the crisis stems from government and not the universities themselves – as SASCO would have us believe.
“The DA wants every qualifying pupil in South Africa to be given an opportunity to further their education.
“We would ensure this by gradually increasing the NSFAS budget to R16-billion, so that no student is denied further education because they cannot afford it.
“To achieve this, we would expand the capacity of universities and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to provide more opportunities for higher education,” she said.
The DA is working on a new funding dispensation, which includes the following proposals:
- Encouraging the use of skills levy funding for both short courses and long-term studies at universities and FET colleges.
- Providing dedicated funding for the development of scarce skills (for example, teachers and social workers).
- Expanding the assistance provided through the NSFAS and implementing current proposals to make funding for the full cost of study available as loans to poor students, and then converting them to bursaries if studies are successfully completed.
- Allowing students studying towards qualifications in identified areas, where the public service is in need of skills, to repay public loans through public service.
“All of these are policies that can only be achieved on a national level,” Campbell said.
”However, as councillors, we support these initiatives as they will ultimately have a positive effect on residents in the metro, who will benefit from a better education and in turn, job opportunities.”
