Nzimande announces 2017 fees decision

South Africa on Monday gave universities the go-ahead to raise student fees by up to eight percent, prompting protests on several campuses across the country. Other centers affected by the protests were the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Zululand.

Higher education minister Blade Nzimande has announced that university councils are empowered to adjust their own fee hikes for 2017, but poor students will be covered by government.

Last year, university fee increases were frozen after nationwide student protests.

In other comments posted on Twitter, students said they rejected the increase in fees and would unite in protest until the university shut down.

Meanwhile, the University of the North West says they have taken note of the announcement.

Myende, however, added that the student council would still have to determine how the increase, capped at 8%, would affect UKZN students.

“Addressing students” unhappiness with the announcement, the minister said that costs increase, and that it does not wait for permission.

Classes and lectures were suspended at UCT on Friday afternoon‚ “in order to assess the situation and implement additional security measures on campus”‚ the institution said last week.

“Our recommendation is that fee adjustments should not go above 8 percent”, minister Blade Nzimande told a news conference.

“We don’t accept this nonsense, the minister just made a decision to give the institutions the licence to rob poor students again”. The Fees Commission has had its mandate postponed to July next year which is after the next Budget is tabled by the Minister of Finance and thus is clearly a dishonest attempt to deal with the immediate issues facing students.

Nzimande said students who use the national financial aid scheme (NSFAS) and those from the so-called “missing middle’ will not be affected by the increase”.

“We will take our lead from the students, but one thing is for sure, Nzimande’s suggestion is not acceptable”.

He said, to ensure that such inflation-linked fee adjustments of the 2015 fee baseline were affordable to financially-needy students, government was committed to finding the resources to support all students.