Student debt has negative impacts for both the student and the institution. The total student debt owed to institutions in the country amounts to billions.
This has recently come to light as a Wits student has lost a case against the University of the Witwatersrand asking to graduate.
This is a common occurence as many students in the country are not allowed to graduate due to their student debt. In this case, the student was asking that she be allowed to graduate with a teaching degree, while owing the institution around R100 000 in tuition fees.
Unfortunately, the High Court ruled that because Makhubele did not comply with the acknowledgment of debt he and Tsakani had signed (which allowed her to register for her final year of study last year) that stated R35 000 from the R102 139 owed in outstanding fees would be paid towards the settlement of the student's debt, their pleas have been rejected.
Here's how much is owed to some universities in South Africa
- University of Johannesburg - R667 million
- Sefako Makgatho University - R854 million
- Cape Peninsula University of Technology - R228.4 million
- Stellenbosch University - R179.3 million
- North West University - R2 billion
What possible solutions are there?
Professor William Gumede, associate professor at the School of Governance of Wits, said that the private financial sector can help with funding students with loans underwritten by the state.
We are in a big crisis ... The whole system needs to be overruled.
Gumede says that about 150 000 students might not be able to graduate this year due to outstanding fees. The Professor says that students should be allowed to graduate so that they can get a job to pay back their student debt.
"What we should do is make the funding scheme a loan scheme for people to pay loans back" and that government grants should be turned into a loan scheme. Gumede also believes that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) should be overhauled due to the corruption and maladministration seen in the organisation.
Then, they should turn NSFAS into a loan scheme made possible through private entities and overseen by government.
He says that businesses should also look at providing opportunities for students when they graduate.
Those kinds of solutions, we have to look at outside of state also.
Careers Portal spoke to Feenix's (crowdfunding platform for students) Student Advancement Manager, Tammy Green to discuss ways student debt can be addressed.
Green says that one of the main things that will help lessen the country’s student debt is collaborative efforts between both public and private sectors and continued investment in students and young people.
Earlier this year, during his state of readiness address, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, stated that his department was working toward developing an alternative funding model for university and TVET college students.
The minister highlighted that the issue of the missing middle is being finalized within the new Comprehensive Funding Model which is expected to be introduced before the end of the new financial year.
Nzimande noted that within the new policy framework his department will avail loans and bursaries and direct these efforts toward students located within the scarce skills categories.
