Planned shutdown of higher education institutions a costly move for students

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has noted the calls by student organisations to shutdown university campuses across the country today in protest against financial exclusion. While we sympathize with the concerns and demands of students, we do not support a full shutdown of institutions of higher learning.

The DA understand that students are frustrated by the manner in which the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) have dealt with their legitimate funding concerns. However, the shutdown of universities will have devastating implications for students. We believe that following the interruptions to the 2020 academic year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the higher education sector cannot afford any disruptions to the start of 2021 academic year.

Over the past number of weeks the cracks in the government’s free education plan has been plain to see. It has become apparent that NSFAS simply does not have the money to fund free education, as promised by Jacob Zuma in a shameless attempt to keep his faction in power.

Unlike the ANC, the DA has a plan for student funding. The DA’s alternative funding plan focusses on a three tiered model which (1) gives students from low-income households the most comprehensive financial support and diluting this as little as possible; (2) providing proportional assistance to those in the “Missing Middle” who can afford to pay a portion of their expenses; and (3) students from high-income households will not receive government financial support for fees or other expenses, as they will either be able to pay for their studies themselves or are eligible for bank loans.

The DA’s plan also focusses on a loan/grant system not just grants as is the case with NSFAS currently, and historical debt will be addressed through students needing to create debt agreements with banks or institutions providing the loans. And they can use these debt agreements to register for their academic year despite having historical debt. The DA will communicate our full plan in the days to come.

Finally, while we do not support the nationwide shutdown of campuses, we do recognize students’ democratic right to protest. The DA therefore calls on the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other law enforcement officials to resist the disproportionate use of force against protesting students, as they did last week during the protest of Wits students. Students have legitimate concerns and a right to protest, we cannot afford another loss of life due to heavy-handed police force.