Nzimande to convene multi-stakeholder forum on higher education

3rd October 2016 By: News24Wire

Nzimande to convene multi-stakeholder forum on higher education

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande is expected to convene a multi-stakeholder forum consultative meeting at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park on Monday.

The aim of the meeting is to seek a solution to the situation in higher education and resume the 2016 academic programme.

On Saturday, Nzimande said the ministers in higher education had met with student leaders for more than three hours in Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg, to discuss violent protests which have been taking place at several institutions of higher learning across the country.

Students and police have clashed a number of times, with the latter using stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse protesting students.

Nzimande announced in September that universities could determine their own fee increments, but they should not exceed 8%.

He said they had looked at the challenges at hand from all sides and concluded that the best approach would be to allow individual universities to determine the level of the increases that their institutions would require.

President Jacob Zuma was also expected to officially open the Higher Education Stakeholder Summit at Emperors Palace on Monday.

Various sectors will be brought together including business, labour, religious leaders, students, parents and university management.