Roundup: S. African universities plunged into funding crisis: official

South African universities have been plunged into a funding crisis after they failed to raise tuition fees, Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande said on Sunday.

According to Nzimande, South African universities face a shortfall of about 3 billion rand (about 222 million US dollars) after their plans to raise tuition fees were aborted due to boycotts from the students.

Amid widespread protests against tuition hikes, South African President Jacob Zuma announced on Friday that there would be no fee increases in universities for 2016. While this announcement came as a relief for all students, Zuma made no mention of where the resulting shortfall in university income would come from.

On Sunday, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) called for amendment to the national budget in order to fund the shortfall in higher education funding.

It is the DA's contention that the government had an opportune moment to address this funding crisis in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), delivered by Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene in Parliament two days before Zuma's decision to place a moratorium on fee increases.

The finance minister's failure to appreciate and adequately address the funding crisis in higher education in the MTBPS further indicates the fact that the government had no intention of lightening the financial burden on students, the DA alleged.

According to The Sunday Times, Nzimande himself acknowledged that he does not know where he will find the money to fund the shortfall.

"We have to find the money somewhere. At the moment, we are asking our director-general of the Treasury and higher education to put their heads together to say where can we try to find money because we can't leave our universities in the lurch," Nzimande was quoted as saying.

Finding the money to fund a freeze in university fees would be "a tough one," Nzimande said.

DA MP Malcolm Figg has tabled a letter to parliament's Standing Committee on Appropriations, urging the committee to solicit the assistance of the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) in amending the relevant legislation, including the exact amount required to fund the shortfall, and the most appropriate areas in which this revenue can be found.

"There is no doubt that the funding will not be found in the Department of Higher Education and Training's (DHET) University budget. That budget is extremely tight already, with little or no surplus or identified wasteful expenditure that could be transferred," said Belinda Bozzoli, DA Shadow Minister of Higher Education and Training.

In the end, money must be found within the existing budget for a zero percent increase, otherwise what should be a relief for students, will result in cuts at universities, he said.

"This will be equally bad for students, and for innovative research which our economy so desperately needs," he added. Endit