'Flawed philosophy of without charge advanced education

On Saturday 17 October 2015, the National Higher Education Summit, the South African Department of Education and Training organized with a wide range of stakeholders, from the Durban Declaration on Higher Education in Transformation. After the transformation of the listed significant gains, the statement must be immediately resolved the issue seven.

The first three unspecified 'initiatives' about the funding and student debt, fee structures, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, or NSFAS, which needed to be strengthened. Every major role-player in a statement on progress with each of the seven resolutions calling for immediate and medium-term concluded nine.

Tuesday, 20 October, Eyewitness News, the headline "SA varsities brought to a standstill," with, intimated that the student.

Wednesday, October 21, Live Times headline screamed "Students storm the parliament", and the following: "For the first time in history, the parliamentary constituency of stun grenades were fired into the gates of the hundreds of students protesting against the increase in student fees"

Friday 23 October, the Times Live that President Jacob Zama, after a meeting with student leaders and university officials, told a media conference in Pretoria's Union Buildings, "that there is a 0% increase in university fees in 2016, we agreed to."

This is a student of the post-1994 South Africa campaign, and it was effective.

Non-party-aligned strategy, non-formal leadership mobilization through social media significantly to Manuel Cast ells, outrage and hope for similar networks, the internet age of social movements, describes the new forms of social movements - from the 'Arab Spring' movement in Spain and the Occupy Wall Insignias Street movement in the United States.

Some of the student leaders see things that need to be read Cast ells, and was very surprised, he had them.

Unfortunately, it does not seem to have the students read and wealth inequality, Thomas Piety Capital's 2014 book about the twenty-first century.

Free higher education privileges for the rich

And student media spokespeople and effortlessly slip 'free higher education of the poor "and" free higher education for all' of the slide. These two concepts are very different.

When journalists and talk show hosts to contact me for an opinion, they always ask: "higher education is a good idea, where will the money come from?" The short answer is: "No, and there is not enough money for the development of higher education in the country is free."

Europe's richest and most developed countries - - but never mentioned the example of Latin America's Norway, Finland and Germany.

As far as I know, following the independence of African countries by providing free higher education for national flagship public university. Academic Market Place in his 2008 book: the dilemma of neoliberal reform at the University of Miserere, Mahmud Mandeni describes Nordstomek this:

"The goal ... was full scholarships including tuition, board, health insurance, transportation and even a 'favor' needs ... this is a great opportunity for the student's point of view on to cover the preparation of a tiny elite, society's view He received a privilege. "

Elite generosity and had two consequences.

First, Miserere University cannot afford to pay their staff, established a two-tier system: the higher education, public and private fee-paying students free day and during the evening. By 2008, Mandeni 'commercialization' of Miserere described in this research without a devaluation of higher education as a way to lower-level training.

The second conclusion, low-quality private 'universities', which charged exorbitant rates low national currency was worthless mushrooming international titles.

Who got the flagship universities grant access? A children's business and political elite at the top of his head gone to school locally and internationally. A few highly gifted students also gained entrance to free higher education for the poor. The rest coming from the poor, he ended up (if they were lucky) in low-quality, non-university institutions payment.

A economist technical point of view, from the University of Cape Town Sean Archer argues that the free tertiary education is regressive: the poorer members of society end up subsidizing the rich.

Piety is a classic example of how the situation and strategies, sometimes unintentionally but often deliberate, privileged elite - This free higher education is the story of Africa and Latin America.

What is the political elite in South Africa is a cynical one under the banner of the poor, we are a top priority.

And "Higher education funding" 2004 article in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Nicholas Barr noted that, even in OECD countries, public universities have argued consistently low or no tuition fees, and greater access to higher education by providing equal opportunities.

But, says Barr, such reasoning is not correct, middle and high-income families subsidized overwhelming public universities for students because it creates.

Nor does it deliver?

Initially, the students share the blame for the crisis in the universities targeted. Instead of being the seat of government to the students to join the protests, the chancellor got trapped between the students and the state.

But by Friday, October 23, students marched to the government headquarters in Pretoria and the ruling African National Congress, or ANC.

ANC Secretary-General Geed Manta she said the ANC's full support student demands that the situation should be given more power to regulate universities, and strongly criticized the chancellor, was the result of their action in protest at Parliament confirming saying.

Government contributions poor

Empirical evidence shows that the government - and the involvement of the ANC - was not without blame.

The graph below illustrates the university student in the balance sheet more than doubled in 13 years the proportion of fees, R7.8 billion (US $ 562 million) from R17.8 million, a 33% increase in the government's contribution to the R15. 9 million to R21.2 million.

The third stream of income for the universities has nearly doubled, but clearly that student fees to offset the 9% decrease in government subsidies.



A comparison of the government's contribution to the international higher education gross domestic product, or the percentage of the GDP is allocated. South Africa, the percentage of 0.72% from 0.68% in 2004-05 to 2015-16.

Based on data from 2012, the proportion of GDP to 0.95% in Brazil, 1.4% in Senegal and Ghana, Norway and Finland for more than 2% and 4.5% in Cuba.

South Africa R30 billion in the 2015-16 budget for higher education. The government would spend 1% of GDP in higher education, which would have amounted to R41 million - an additional R11 million and nearly four times as a result of the 0% increase in the deficit.

NSFAS decapitating

In the 1990s, in its first phase, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, or NSFAS, scholarship and loan scheme was a very admired, and he was not analyzed in a number of countries. Nicholas Barr points out that the success of the student financial assistance schemes in developing countries has been few.

However, as the scheme grew, there has headquarters in 2008, and in particular the universities were some administrative problems.

Higher Education and Training, or DHET, in 2009 after the establishment of the Department of Education, Universities and Training Minister Blade Nimadi explained the position of the board members, who were in the midst of a review of the NSFAS and the implementation of a turnaround strategy.

Floyd Shivambu, during which time the Board, described how the new director general DHET had approached the minister to step down because he wanted to introduce free higher education and experts are asked to refer to the implementation of this.

What the minister - in the South African Communist Party leader - he was really a member of the Communist Party appointed without experience in this field. This was adding a purge of people with skills; some forced to leave, others will remain what one senior workers 'de-professional' is described as a result of the NSFAS.

Nimadi took a blow when the NSFAS restrict its powers to collect the debt, resulting in a dramatic decline in loan recovery - the height of R638 million in 2010-11, the 'experts' to take new - R248 million in 2014-15, DHET paper, the National Higher Education Summit According prepared to meet.

At the same time, however, he significantly increased the funding available to NSFAS R1.5 million to R3.9 million in 2014. In 2010, the combination of de-capacitating the organization, reducing its debt-raising powers and a flood of new money 'Bad Business Management 101' is.

In May 2015, Nimadi an investigation into corruption at the Ministry of Finance announced a review of the NSFAS.

The logic of this kind of political administration, strengthens the position that there is a problem that leads to a lack of transformation. Remedy is to appoint party cadres in politics directly, but the implementation of progressive policies that ignore the importance of experience.

Dysfunctional organizations can implement progressive policies. Organizational climate, promote the transformation of corruption.

Lack of skills in financial analysis DHET

In 2009, specifically, NSFAS restructuring is based on the same logic applied to the formation of the new strategy and the DHET. A number of senior positions were filled by party affiliation rather than the established experience in the sector.

High-skill tasks were outsourced to an NGO relevant experience or expertise is not known, the university sector was closely affiliated with the minister and his advisers. Troubled Green and White Papers, and the fact that there has not been a new national plan for higher education since 2001, as well as financial management is of particular concern.

This looming financial crisis because it was not identified and acted upon, among other things, financial analysis of the lack of expertise within the DHET.

The financial system, an accounting professor says, 'broken'. It does not accurately reflect the state neither of financial institutions, nor to make a diagnosis of their financial health allows. There are institutions that make up the system for reporting on the financial indicators of a crisis is clear, and there is not an accurate reflection of student debt and the proportion of debt that can be recovered realistic assessment.

A typical low-power a government department, DHET is now proposing that universities must produce financial reports twice a year, when it does not have the ability to analyze the current annual report.

South Africa and the universities 'activist' attitude

In July 2015, their association with the South African Vice-Chancellor, Higher Education South Africa, and Hera, relaunched universities in South Africa, where, as declared in his opening statement:

"Our problems and challenges facing our universities sufficient consensus on the pursuit of more consultation and more diversity of interests and constituencies, including universities, companies and beyond, we will. We're supporting a more activist stance."

Any organization relaunches there are signs of problems, and the word 'consensus' and 'activism' to clarify the statements.

For years, the organization has historically deep-advantage and historically disadvantaged and, more recently, divided between the traditional divide between universities and universities of technology. Access to resources, to respond to the uniqueness, and the government is talking about funding, are all issues that the organization turned off.

In a report in February 2008, expressed support for self-regulation and Hesa ​​objected to suggestions that the government regulates the rates, increasing inter alia, address the following issues:

• rates will negatively affect the establishment of the upper limits of individual autonomy and flexibility in higher education institutions.
• Capping tuition fees does not necessarily improve accessibility to the poor, but instead may lead to higher education is becoming less rich.
• capping mechanism will discourage institutional differentiation and will actively advance institutional uniformity.

President Zama announced on 23 October 2015 that there is a 0% fee increase, it would be in the chair next to her was South Africa.

2013 Review of the Committee of Ministers of funding for universities, the University of South Africa for the report, which recommends capping fees should not be set, the quality would suffer and universities would not be in a position to cross-subsidize needy students financially through university-funded student bursaries.

The figures show that in 2011 more than R1 million in bursaries for university financial aid available to undergraduate and graduate student. These funds are allocated bursaries trust funds, donor funding and so on, as well as student fee income.

478,194 undergraduate and graduate students were financially assisted universities between 2007 and 2011 if the capped fees for students, universities would not be able to cross-subsidization within the institutions to continue with this practice.

It is clear that the main causes of the crisis in student fees - the government (National Treasury), DHET, NSFAS and the University of South Africa - not only the development of this problem, but it does not seem to be capable of or willing to take the lead in addressing the problem.

A 'war room' for differentiated rates

what can be done so that it does not state such as higher education, South African Airways, as companies such as electricity provider Eskom and the Petro’s? Their multi-million rand bailouts are part of the reason why higher education is not readily available in cash.

Perhaps Eskom electricity shortage crisis offers some pointers. A 'war room' of the country's vice-president Cyril Ramaphosa was established under the representatives of the ministry, a number of business leaders and a few academics.

The aim is not only to get the lights back on, but it was the work of a sustainable strategy. Ramaphosa is not unfamiliar with the higher education funding: DHET 2014 he took part in the review of university funding.

A task such as war, to make room for a higher education would be very easy, but politically very hard to establish - to increase government funding for higher education from 0.7% to 1% of the gross domestic product more internationally comparable rates.

NSFAS is a complex whether additional money should go directly to the university that the argument is whether or not you want to NSFAS rates regulated by the government, then it will be a way to bailout cyclical system.

More complex, and, at the same time, developed, very difficult, a quota system would be differentiated.

What is it morally defensible and free higher education is very poor - an annual income below R120,000 for example ,.

Nowhere in the developing world to borrow loans for this group of post-graduate employment has success depended on it, and we know that failure to graduate and the highest unemployment rate among the poor. Also, the informal sector, where it is very difficult for many poor job of collecting taxes and the debt, according to Barr.

Also, there is not complex to implement and defend the morally very rich, they will have to pay more. Commendable that the children of veterans of the struggle against apartheid posters were demanding free higher education, however, said they had to make a second poster: ". We have to pay more"

One assumes that R1 billion annually if their family income, then pay R80,000 - NSFAS average annual estimates of total fee and living expenses - less than 10% of their income would be. If these students to go to the United Kingdom and the United States, three to five times more to pay.

Piety the camera, perhaps it is not surprising that it is not the most unequal countries in the world, rich in higher education is almost free of charge.

Missing the middle

By far the most complex of what insiders call the NSFAS 'missing middle' and refers to the Argus 'gap' in Article 2 November the family "is not just a poor student financial assistance" for the title. This group of students qualify for NSFAS funding, and the lower end of the middle-class, it is not easy bank loans.

Argus described in detail as a teacher for a mother, an employee and a father of two girls and two universities in Cape Town tertiary expensive things that are not formed as an organization in a middle-class family. Middle-class suburb of Bracken fell living costs around R17,000 per month, which shows that their combined income of R20,000 - which leaves R3,000 for entertainment and education.

Similarly, the tertiary education of the two children - rather than a single - not only expensive, but it will be counted against them, also, to obtain financial assistance. China's one child policy; If you're in the middle of South Africa in this group, you can have a lot of children, but only one person at the university.

Matthew Lester, a tax professor at the University of Rhodes, shows that about half a million South Africans who earn more than R500, 000 year university education, which is very affordable, the rest of it "is beyond the means of most of the houses in South Africa."

Rich, higher education in South Africa is a bargain, affordable gift for the poor through subsidies, but in the middle, if not specified, South Africa, heading one of two scenarios: the revolt of the Arab Spring, the Piety hinted, serious French-style revolution.

The 'missing middle' is not only the cornerstone of higher education throughout the world, but a productive and educated middle class is also the glue that holds society together.

'Free Higher Education' sounds attractive mobilizing revolutionary and a 'cry' is. But in a developing country is economically, empirically and morally wrong - the poster "affordable higher education for all" should be read - a clear understanding of the costs of the different groups in society to say that affordable as well.

Nice Colette Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network for Africa, in HERANA director and coordinator of the Center for Higher Education Trust; Visitors to Oslo, Norway University; Institute of Post-Western Cape, South Africa separate studies professor at the University; Sciencetometry and DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa Professor Extraordinary.