In a press meeting held on 14 October, 2022, the Minister of the Department of Higher Education, Innovation and Training (DHET), Blade Nzimande, announced that the Department would be embarking on a process to provide solutions for post-school education and training funding and surrounding issues related to the student funding policy.
Nzimande stated that on that day (the 14th), he met with various Vice-Chancellors and Principals of public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, as well as with national student leadership in both sectors.
"I have a series of consultations planned also for next week, and intend to engage as widely as possible on the recommendations of the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) that I appointed in 2021 to make proposals for a future sustainable model of student financial aid," said the Minister.
Because of all these funding challenges, Cabinet directed that the DHET develop a comprehensive and durable student financial aid model.
The work of the MTT was carried out in two phases: the first to support immediate recommendations for the 2022 budget process, and the second to make medium to long-term recommendations for the future.
The Comprehensive Student Financial Aid Model was created as a result of the DHET reprioritizing its departmental budget, after a few shortfalls with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The revised plan aims to ensure that all "deserving, NSFAS-qualifying students were able to receive funding for the 2021 and 2020 academic years," said the Minister during the press conference.
Nzimande also states that in the Department's brief survey of student funding models across the world, South Africa’s funding model is "amongst the most advanced and generous in the developing world," calling it a remarkable achievement for a country that deals so many social challenges.
"The fully-subsidized model shows a massive commitment of our government to supporting poor and working class students to access higher education," says Nzimande.
As part of its work, the MTT reviewed a number of solutions to missing middle funding, outlining a number of loan and bursary options already available within the student funding landscape.
A range of proposed emerging funding solutions were explored for the short and medium term, taking into account the review of work done and the engagement of the MTT with some existing providers of student funding opportunities.
"I want to emphasize that a new model cannot be developed at the expense of funding institutions to remain sustainable and to provide quality education and necessary skills to grow our economy," continues the Minister.
One reason for the continued investment into higher education via student funding such as NSFAS, is because of the revelation that NSFAS-funded students perform significantly higher than other students enrolled in tertiary institutions.
"In summary, the recommendations suggest the development of a ten-year plan towards developing a comprehensive and sustainable student financial aid model, drawing on a diversity of funding sources, and integrating work across government.
I look forward to discussing further these recommendations in more detail with key stakeholders in the sector over the next few weeks then present the final recommendations to Cabinet for consideration," concluded the press meeting.
