Financing higher education in South Africa: Public funding, nongovernment revenue and tuition fees

Abstract

The funding of public higher education is currently a moot issue in South Africa. Public funding has been declining and opportunities for winning non-government revenue
remain limited. The frequent raising of tuition fees, which is one of the main strategies
public universities have resorted to mitigate declining state funding is not without
controversy. The article discusses these funding challenges. It argues that the current
higher education funding conundrum will hamstring the achievement of the important
higher education policy goals articulated in the National Plan on Higher Education. The
article finally argues for a shift towards a redistributive funding model by changing the
current formula for allocating funding for student aid to universities so that resources
are redistributed in favour of the genuinely poor. By so doing, it is anticipated that
higher education will be affordable for the poor who are generally sensitive to tuition
fee increases, and also the rich, who can afford the current (high) tuition fee charges.

South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 22 (4) 2008: pp. 906-919