Student rage as varsity says it's forced to increase fees

Wits University has increased its fees by 8% because it had been left in the lurch by the government, which had short-changed it by R54-million.

Wits spokesman Shirona Patel said the Department of Higher Education and Training had paid the university about R54-million less than the R146-million promised after the #FeesMustFall protests, which prompted President Jacob Zuma to proclaim that no South African university would increase its fees in 2016.

The government allocated R2-billion to cover the shortfall in funding caused by keeping the 2016 fees as they were in 2015.

Patel said the university had no choice but to increase fees in order to sustain itself.

"Our subsidy increase for 2017 will be only 2.5%. This equates to a net decline in income from the state of approximately R54-million for 2017."

The decision to increase fees is likely to set university management on a collision course with student protesters who have called for free higher education.

The university said that without the fees increase it would have a deficit of R191-million, whereas a 6% increase would have left it with a R90-million deficit.

Department of Higher Education spokesman Busiswa Gqangeni said the department would most likely issue a statement today.

Wits said the increase would help it to pay academics and administrative employees.

The university also had to fund the purchase of books and journals, and pay for utilities.

The university said its council was aware that the decision would be financially onerous for the families of many students but the state has committed itself to funding the increase for all students with a family income of less than R600,000 a year.

The Department of Higher Education would also cover the increase in fees for students benefiting from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme who fell outside the R600,000 bracket.

Patel said the Student Representative Council had been consulted.

"The SRC had requested a 0% increase in tuition fees for 2017. Their input was considered and deliberated on extensively before the final decision was made."

Wits SRC secretary-general David Manabile said he was "disappointed" and "saddened" by the university's "hilarious act".

"We think it is disingenuous of the university to increase the fees by 8%. We have always made it clear that we are calling for a freeze on fee increments until we realise free education.

"We are really saddened by this pathetic move by the university council to increase fees by 8%.

"We as the SRC were only consulted once. We were consulted on Wednesday and told on Friday that the council is sitting. We are really not satisfied with how the university is running its business."

Manabile said the SRC would take its mandate from students.

"We can't pre-empt what is going to happen [next year] but I can foresee . that students will protest again because they won't be able to afford the fees.

"Their [the university administration] timing as usual is hypocritical. They always wait for students to leave and when we come back next year we find a militarised campus."

Vuyani Pambo, a former EFF student leader at Wits, said the university's announcement was "cruel" and the hardest hit would be poor, black students.

The University of Johannesburg is expected to make an announcement about fees today or tomorrow.

The University of Cape Town has yet to make an announcement. Spokesman Elijah Moholola said the university's council was expected to meet on Saturday to discuss fee increments and would most likely make an announcement on the same day.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal, at which there were sustained fees protests, is still to make a determination on fees but has said that keeping them unchanged would be detrimental to its survival.

Universities such as Fort Hare and Tshwane University of Technology have already announced that they will not increase fees for 2017.

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology recently announced that fees would increase by 8% for those who could afford it, which is about 10% of students.