University of the Witwatersrand management will on Thursday meet to discuss and analyse the Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS)‚ which was delivered in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon. “Wits is still reviewing the minister's speech and all the budget documents. A quick reading indicates that the mini-budget largely finances the priorities put forward by the minister of higher education and training to fund the poor and the missing middle‚" said university spokesperson Shirona Patel.“Aside from the speech‚ they need to analyse the actual budget as it has subsidy implications for the next three years‚” she added.The MTBPS is a government policy document that communicates to Parliament and the country the economic context in which the forthcoming budget will be presented‚ along with fiscal policy objectives and spending priorities over a three-year period.Gordhan announced that the immediate need for funding of higher education was one of the priorities. He said subsidies to universities will grow by 10.9% each year and transfers to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) will grow by 18.5% Universities and students will now receive an additional R17-billion over the medium term.In 2017‚ government will a fund fee increases at higher learning institutions for students from households earning up to R600 000 per year. NSFAS will also receive significant top-ups.Tensions between students and universities led to violent protests after the Department of Higher Education and Training announced in September that tertiary institutions could determine their own fee increases for next year‚ but with a cap of 8%.Wits is expected to make an announcement soon. – TMG Digital..