Fundi webinar on student funding

‘The poorest of the poor have an equal right to be educated’

In a country with the world’s highest inequality, how to fund the vast majority of students who come from poor circumstances has been a thorny issue — for a very long time. When the state began funding the poorest students after the #FeesMustFall protests, the issue of “missing middle” students became apparent, and many students with National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)  funding are struggling to feed themselves when studying, and to complete their degrees. All the stakeholders concerned, and indeed all South Africans, must work together to resolve these issues. 

This emerged in an in-depth webinar held by Fundi, an education finance and fund management specialist organisation, and the Mail & Guardian. Moderator Thembekile Mrototo, Radio and Television News Anchor at Newzroom Afrika, engaged academics in a lively debate on the challenges and solutions to student funding in our country. 

Professor Xolise Mtose, Vice-Chancellor of University of Zululand, said in her keynote address: “The issue of student funding has loomed large in the national consciousness and the entire body politic for decades.” She cautioned that in discussing this issue, one must adopt a critical and reflexive stance about one’s own ideological stance, and that practical and sustainable solutions must be crafted to promote the expansion and participation of the youth in our higher education. 

To redress the apartheid system, which favoured white students, the post-1994 government came up with White Paper 3 in 1997, which articulated the transformation of higher education, to overcome the historical patterns of exclusion and respond to the needs of the new democratic society. But nearly 30 years later, the funding of such a system remains a conundrum.

Mtose said that the realisation of transformation in South African higher education has been robbed by two key elements that are in tension with each other: the evolving policy position of government funding higher education, and the overriding belief that costs must be shared by students and their families. 

Researchers and policymakers have for many years attempted to find solutions to the inadequacies of public funding for higher education, subsidies for universities, student loans and debts, among others. The issues of the 2016 #FeesMustFall protests converged on the urgency of transforming the sector. In 2017 then-president Jakob Zuma announced that higher education would be funded by the state, for students who came from households with an income of under R350 000 per year. 

Debates about student funding now focus on three key areas: access, quality and cost. There are self-paying students, credit-funded students who rely on their parents, and non-funded students. The “missing middle” are those students whose home income is above R350 000, but whose parents don’t earn enough to qualify for bank loans for their children’s tertiary education. We need to examine and acknowledge the wide differentiation of needs in this group, its complexities and vulnerabilities, and review the loan schemes available to them.

Mtose said: “The poorest of the poor have an equal right to be educated.” Practical, sustainable solutions must be found to this issue, although several commissions and task teams have attempted to address this; a coordinated approach between all stakeholders is required. In a presentation shared with the audience, Mtose outlined how financing student studies could proceed, but she said that much work still needs to be done on the topic, which requires a “nuanced understanding”.

Mrototo pointed out that according to Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande, NSFAS requires R47 billion to support 900 000 students for 2023. Another alarming statistic is that 60% of students at universities are NSFAS funded, and at TVET colleges, 90% of students are NSFAS beneficiaries. 

He asked Dr Birgit Schreiber, HELM Senior Associate, if we are in this funding quagmire because of our education policies or because of our socioeconomic situation? She replied that it is largely due to years of mismanagement of funding, and poor funding models. We must remember that educated students are a public good — they are necessary for society to function well — so most of the funding must come from the public sector. “Government is responsible for education, because it is through education that we can sustain tomorrow.” The private sector can step in, but only in a supporting role. 

Hungry students and huge inequality

On the question of people in the sector working in silos, Mtose said that it is a “terrible mistake” to forget how few poor school leavers actually qualify for NSFAS funding. We have to remember the depth of inequality in this country, and that students often need a lot of support in their first year. Sometimes we hear of students lying in their rooms because they have had no money for food for three days. 

Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor of University of Johannesburg, said that universities have a responsibility to help their students, especially those who are struggling financially. UJ took the calculated risk of helping 800 students this year who are still expecting NSFAS funding. The SRC trust fund at UJ makes R20 million available annually to help students register. Many students get funding to study but then cannot feed themselves, so we have  feeding schemes that provide a warm meal each day. “We need a culture of giving; every rand counts.”

Schreiber was asked, is higher education overpriced? She replied that South African universities have to do an enormous amount of work to create a learning environment, including, these days, providing safety, lights and water. We have to lobby more to ensure the government creates a functional broader environment.

Avuxeni Tyala, SRC President at Rhodes University said that there is often a lack of collaboration between university authorities and students, and that protests often occur because the same issues are not being addressed, again and again. She added that it is extremely difficult for most students to get into universities; this year many are desperate and pleading for entrance after the late release of matric results. She said student leadership must cultivate spaces where graduates can give back, to help those coming into the system. 

Mtose said that she is sympathetic to poverty, but not to failure; students must provide value when money has been invested in them. The majority of South Africans are in need, so those with means must “stop playing games”; many students come from expensive private schools and are then on NSFAS funding at university.

The soaring cost of higher education

Mpedi said that South Africa is the most unequal country in the world. Every year higher education institutions (HEIs) have protests about funding, as many students still “fall through the cracks”. There are more students each year, but not more funding. Tuition fees keep rising, and so does student debt. Demand for space has outstripped NSFAS funding; short-term solutions are not working. We also have to grapple with dropout rates — 40% of students don’t finish their degrees. 

Poor students need bursaries for postgraduate studies, and many who wish to study further have to work part-time. Global rankings of universities depend heavily on the research they generate, and lately, on the opinions of the students themselves, so if funding falls short, these are affected, and this in turn affects rankings, and thus their third-stream funding.

UJ spends R10 million each year on meals for nearly 5 000 students, and has raised with private partnerships nearly R2 billion for missing middle students. It also contributes millions towards helping students register. The university supports those who are financially needy and academically deserving, and those who are ready to graduate but are hampered by debt. The communities must work with the universities and the youth to support higher learning.

Makgau Didakwane, CEO of Fundi, agreed, and said we must pool all the resources available. He said that funding is the responsibility of ALL South Africans, not just government and corporations.  The focus is on “there isn’t enough”, but we should rather think along the lines of using what is already there to maximum advantage. 

He added that many students don’t have the right information and many struggle to register, so the right info must be made available, on the right platforms, and technology can help a great deal in this regard.  

Online is the answer going forward

Schreiber said universities could be more flexible in their course offerings, and do more online courses. Mpedi agreed; UJ already has some online courses, and is looking at “carousel” options, where students can “hop on and off” courses and curriculums. 

Mtose said some University of Zululand students have benefited from online courses,  and that hybrid learning is the future. Flexibility is needed; for instance, when students are sick, they can still learn by going online. Tyala said she agreed with the hybrid system, and that financial considerations should never hold a student back from qualifying. 

Dibakwane said Fundi funds higher education — even short courses — and concluded that solutions can only come from collaborations between all the stakeholders. — Derek Davey

Watch the webinar here: