The Democratic Alliance Students’ Organisation (DASO) welcomes many of the recommendations contained in the Fees Commission Report released yesterday by The Presidency. We, however, disagree with the central student funding model proposed.

In line with the DASO student funding model, we are glad that the report does contain recommendations to scrap registration and application fees, fully subsidised the cost of study for TVET colleges and increased funds for universities.

While we welcome the report’s suggestion that there should be increased funding for universities, we are concerned that poor students will be saddled with an undue financial burden.

The commissioners attempted to get around the unworkable fee-free education for all by coming up with a funding model that places poor students in a debt trap. The report recommends a ‘learn now and pay later’ approach where students tap into a pool of funding options to fund their studies.

DASO strongly opposes this approach as it would condemn the poorest of students to a situation where they will graduate with interest-bearing debt, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

DASO proposes a model which would fully subsidise the full cost of study for poor students and proportionally subsidise missing middle students. This will enable access to quality higher education while ensuring that no deserving poor student is not left behind.

We are very concerned that President Zuma and the ANC government continue to play politics with the future of students by stating that the report’s recommendations are still under review. It clearly shows that this administration lacks the political will to bring stability to the higher education sector or it simply does not care.

We have always maintained that the Presidential Fees Commission was an expensive and irresponsible delay tactic by President Zuma. It has become clearer that the only way to solve this crisis will be to organise students and society to elect a government actually interested in solving it.

If circulating rumours are anything to go by, President Zuma is hell-bent on inflicting a body blow on the fiscus by implementing a higher education funding model suggested by his son in law. If this is the case, what exactly was the purpose of the Presidential Fees Commission?

The DA is firm in its view to have a funding model that ensures access and success for poor students. No student should be denied access to quality higher education and the tools required to succeed up to a post-graduate level just because they cannot afford to.

President Zuma should stop playing games with the struggles faced by the vulnerable in our society and outline exactly:

• which recommendations will be implemented by when?
• what is his plan to address this crisis and what is the timeline?
• how will students who with immediate debts accrued due to failures of the current system be assisted?
• which subsidies will be made available to universities, particularly historically disadvantaged institutions, to mitigate fee increases?

His failure to provide certainty on the above will continue to exacerbate instability at university and set up poor and missing-middle students for exclusion or failure.

The struggle will continue to attain a political solution at the ballot box .

Issued by DASO