ANC wants free higher education for poor students as soon as next year

The ANC wants government to provide free higher education to poor students as early as next year.

The lekgotla of the governing party’s national executive committee‚ which took place at the weekend in Tshwane‚ wants the government’s 2018 budget to include full subsidies for qualifying first-year students whose families earn a gross household income of R150‚000 and below per year.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said the meeting‚ which took place ahead of this week’s cabinet lekgotla‚ also proposed a combination of grants and affordable loans for students who come from families with a gross annual income of between R150‚000 and R600‚000.

“We think if we can introduce this for the first-year students in 2018‚ we’ll be beginning to phase in fee-free education at institutions of higher learning for students from poor households. Students will be required to maintain adequate academic performance. That is the condition. You must perform. If you fail to do so‚ you will have to be disqualified‚” Mantashe said.

The proposal comes a just a month before the Heher Commission is due to table its report on the feasibility of free higher education. President Jacob Zuma established the commission following widespread protests in 2015 over fees at universities and amid demands for free higher education.

Mantashe denied that the move was meant to pre-empt any protests that might flare up over fees in the couple of weeks. He said the party was merely acting on its long-standing resolution.

He said the proposal should be factored into next year’s budget.

“Ministers are ministers of the ANC. As they meet‚ they should discuss‚ ‘how best can we effect this decision of the ANC’. We don’t say put it in the October budget or February budget. We are saying by January 2018‚ this should be effected for first year students‚” he said.

Most of the decisions the meeting took about the economy were a rehash of its old proposals. For example‚ it discussed and supported the 14-point action plan that Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba developed in response to the recession. It expressed confidence that the plan‚ which includes initiatives about containing pressures on government finance and tackling governance problems in parastatals‚ would help restore confidence in the economy.

Mantashe said the meeting spent a lot of time discussing the state of parastatals‚ a lot of which are led by acting CEOs‚ and has “nudged government to attend to that issue urgently because it doesn’t instil confidence in this very important tool of economic development and growth”.

The meeting discussed the “stalemate” in the mining sector. Minerals Minister Mosebenzi Zwane introduced a Mining Charter that has been criticised by industry stakeholders‚ who say he has not adequately consulted before signing it off. The NEC has asked its economic transformation subcommittee to come up with an approach that will look beyond the current impasse and focus on the future of the industry.

This lekgotla’s position suggests that Zwane efforts do not enjoy the support of his party.

“But that is not de-emphasising the importance of transformation in the [mining] sector. Transformation is important. We must do it. But we should deal with the industry‚ not in a way that appears to be punitive. We must deal with the industry in a way that provides leadership so that we can make the industry perform and make a contribution in the economic growth of the country‚” Mantashe said.