The Department of Higher Education and Training has said that it wants to ensure that higher education institutions have appropriate infrastructure to accommodate students.
Thus, the university infrastructure and efficiency grant has been allocated R6.7 billion over the medium term, which has increased at an average annual rate of 31.6 percent from R1 billion in 2021/22 to R2.3 billion in 2024/25.
The grant is provided to reduce overcrowding and upgrade poor infrastructure at universities.
The TVET infrastructure and efficiency grant is allocated R1.8 billion over the same period, increasing at an average annual rate of 38.2 per cent, from R214.5 million in 2021/22 to R566.3 million in 2024/25.
The department says that these allocations will allow infrastructure repairs and maintenance to take place in priority areas such as bulk services, sanitation, teaching and learning facilities, and student accommodation.
They state that the reason these grants are experiencing such high growth rates over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is because of the reprioritisations away from these grants to address the shortfall in funding for student bursaries in 2021/22.
The department's allocations of R600 million in 2022/23 and R300 million in 2023/24 will be used to deliver a target of 9 500 beds to four institutions as part of the student housing infrastructure programme.
The funding will be allocated to the four institutions as follows, the Tshwane University of Technology is allocated R337.9 million, the University of KwaZulu‐Natal R200.3 million, Gert Sibande TVET College R188 million, and Majuba TVET College R173.8 million.
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande stated that the total amount currently available for investment in infrastructure projects across the 26 universities during the 2022/23 to 2023/24 MTEF period is R7.584 billion with R2.953 billion being allocated to student housing for the delivery of 16 858 beds across 11 universities (15 898 new beds and 960 refurbished beds).
Nzimande admits that the amount of R2.953 billion would not be enough for student accommodation so the department will be seeking partnerships with the private sector for more funding.
