No such thing as 'free education'‚ ANC treasurer-general tells students

19 May 2017 - 14:40 By Zingisa Mvumvu
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ANC Treasurer-General Dr Zweli Mkhize has told University of Fort Hare students that “in reality” there is no such thing as “free education”.

Addressing students at a Young Communist League event on “Progressive Black Academics” at the university’s East London campus on Wednesday evening‚ he faced off with student‚ socialist and communist radicals’ cries against shortcomings of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and calls for free education.

Mkhize‚ a former student activist himself when he was at University of Natal‚ said young people needed to differentiate between idealism and realism in their calls for free education.

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Mkhize defended NSFAS‚ saying it was the ANC government’s attempt to assist the underprivileged and that everyone must understand NSFAS could not pay for everyone due to limited financial resources at its disposal.

As the financial aid scheme continues to be under fire from beneficiaries for things such as non-payment of meals and textbook allowances‚ Mkhize blamed corruption.

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Besides‚ he said‚ NSFAS was bombarded with applications that were far more than it could handle‚ including those whose parents could afford to pay their own way.

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