Former president Jacob Zuma has hit back at Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande over remarks that the former statesman was to blame for the funding shortfalls for the NSFAS. In December 2017, on the eve of the ANC’s Elective Conference in Nasrec, Zuma announced that the government would be implementing free higher education from the following year.
This week, hundreds of students took to the streets at Wits University, protesting against financial exclusions at the institution. Wits protests quickly spread to the University of Pretoria, UCT and the University of Free State.
Also this week, NSFAS received a R6 billion injection to fund students for the financial year after the Budget Speech had announced a substantial cut for the year.
In Nzimande’s perceived dig at Zuma, this week he told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) that Zuma’s action to announce free education had undermined the work of the Heher Commission, which was appointed to find funding solutions for fee-free education.
He said this led to the poor performance of NSFAS and a subsequent audit disclaimer outcome from the Office of the Auditor-General.
“That announcement to say we are moving to a new scheme 14 days before it had to be implemented messed NSFAS up big time, it exposed the extent to which NSFAS didn’t have a system.
“It increased the number of NSFAS beneficiaries and what was worse with that decision, it ignored the work that was done by the Heher Commission and the transitional measures.
In other news – Jackie Phamotse offers to pay towards Wits shooting victim Mthokozisi Ntumba’s funeral
Jackie Phamotse has offered to pay towards the funeral expenses of Mthokozisi Ntumba, a Masters graduate, father and husband, who was shot and killed by the South African Police Services on Wednesday.
Ntumba was a bystander, who was caught in the crossfire when the police were allegedly trying to disperse students during a protest at Wits University in Braamfontein. Learn more
Source: IOL
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