President Jacob Zuma has appointed a Commission of Inquiry, chaired by Justice Jonathan Arthur Heher, to look at broader issues affecting the funding of higher education.

A former judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Judge Heher was appointed as a judge of the High Court in 1993 and as a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2003. He retired from the bench in 2013.

Judge Heher would be assisted by Advocate Gregory Ally and Leah Thabisile Khumalo as commissioners.

Ally was admitted to the bar in 1990, while Khumalo was a practising attorney and is a founder and director of Durban-based law firm Mngoma-Mlaba Khumalo.

The commission would investigate the feasibility of making higher education and training (higher education) fee-free in South Africa and submit interim reports and recommendations to the President whenever necessary.

This commission was expected to complete its work in eight months, with a final report submitted to the President within two months thereafter.