The private sector must "play a more meaningful role" in tertiary education by building infrastructure and providing funding, the National Board of Convocations and Alumni (NBCA) said on Tuesday.

This was one of the points made in a meeting between the board and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande.

The NBCA urged university management and student leaders to approach fees discussions with an open mind. Convocations and alumni associations needed to play a mediating role in disputes between students and university management.

The associations should encourage past National Student Financial Aid Scheme recipients to repay their loans in order to help new beneficiaries, and to help raise funds to build new, and maintain existing infrastructure.

The NBCA, comprising presidents and chairpersons of convocations and alumni associations from across the country, met in August to discuss the fees debate, with input from the Council on Higher Education, department spokesperson Harold Maloka said in a statement.

Maloka said Nzimande had called on the NBCA to make its voice heard in ending the current wave of violent protests on university campuses, and also participate in the fees commission.