The possibility of free tertiary education in South Africa has been discussed by various role players for quite some time now.

 

Some believe it is feasible, while others say it is a “flawed ideology” that is “not the route to social justice”.

 

You may find the articles at the links below interesting. When reading them, remember that we can’t vouch for the factual correctness of the information and keep in mind that the articles don’t necessarily reflect the NWU’s opinion on this matter.

 

• Free university education is not the route to social justice
• University of the people
• University fees: Free higher education is possible in South Africa
• The flawed ideology of ‘free higher education’

 

Here are some of the interesting points raised in these articles:

 

• “Surely it is not fair that the intrinsic rewards and competitive advantage conferred by higher education should be fully funded by taxpayers when only a minority enjoy them...  we must bear in mind a key insight of modern social democratic politics: full public provision is not always the route to social justice.”

 

• “University of the People (UoPeople) is the world's first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited online university...”

 

• “...  estimates produced by the South African Institute of Race Relations ... suggest that free higher education for all undergraduate students is affordable for South Africa.”

 

• “The media and student spokespeople slip and slide effortlessly between ‘free higher education for the poor’ and ‘free higher education for all’. These are two vastly different concepts.”

 

Closer to home, we are doing our best to assist needy students. We do this by administering the allocated funds from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and other sources, and by making bursaries available from our own funds.

 

Taking into account our enrolment plan and the availability of funds and facilities, the NWU’s aim is to enable as many academically deserving and financially needy students as possible to study. After all, promoting student access is part of our new strategic agenda. (In this edition of Eish! you can read more about the implementation of our new strategy in the article: Change is already in motion.)

 

Happy reading.