{"id":76282,"date":"2016-08-12T18:47:38","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T16:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/when-universities-arent-properly-funded-everybody-loses-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2016-08-12T18:47:38","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T16:47:38","slug":"when-universities-arent-properly-funded-everybody-loses-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/when-universities-arent-properly-funded-everybody-loses-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"When universities aren’t properly funded, everybody loses | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

When universities aren’t properly funded, everybody loses<\/a>: <\/p>\n

A year on from South Africa's #feesmustfall protests, funding remains a hot issue.<\/span> Kim Ludbrook\/EPA<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It seems that South Africa\u2019s universities are on a knife-edge once more. Its students are ready to march again.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s striking that universities find themselves in this position less than a year after the #feesmustfall protests. These brought the issue of rising student fees \u2013 driven by declining government support \u2013 to the fore.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s Higher Education and Training Minister has indefinitely postponed making a highly anticipated announcement about university fees. Dr Blade Nzimande was scheduled to make an \u201cimportant announcement\u201d at a press briefing on August 12. Instead, he cancelled his briefing after meeting with students.<\/p>\n

Students weren\u2019t impressed by their interactions with Nzimande. Members of the SA Union of Students say they will shut down universities from August 15. They\u2019re unhappy with Nzimande\u2019s proposals for the 2017 fee cycle and the work that\u2019s being done by a commission President Jacob Zuma established to investigate fee structures in higher education.<\/p>\n

Drivers for change<\/h2>\n

These events bode ill given the important role that universities play in the country\u2019s economy. In 2009 they contributed more than R87 billion (about US$ 6.5 billion at current rates) to the economy and accounted for approximately 2.1% of gross domestic product (GDP). Universities are responsible for more than 150,000 jobs, both directly \u2013 academics and support staff \u2013 and indirectly through service providers.<\/p>\n

University graduates often enter into well-paying jobs, increasing the number of taxpayers. This is an important imperative in a country that struggles with a narrow base of taxpayers. But it doesn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n

These graduates tend to be more democratically engaged. They are healthier, more likely to be civically engaged and less likely to participate in crime. A vibrant higher education sector is essential to developing a thriving society.<\/p>\n

Higher education is directly involved in the project of nation-building. Its research and its graduates can grapple with the legacy of apartheid, as well as the country\u2019s institutionalised system of inequality. Universities are important promoters of transformation \u2013 increasing representation and access across lines of race, gender and sexuality. In just 20 years, South Africa\u2019s universities have improved access to black students from 52% in 1994 to 81% as of 2014.<\/p>\n

Without sufficient funding, all of this important work is in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

Funding crunch<\/h2>\n

South African higher education is funded well below Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development averages. It lags behind other African countries, too.<\/p>\n

Currently, the South African government spends just R68.7 billion on the entire post-school training sector. Of this, expenditure on university subsidies, infrastructure and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme amount to 1% of GDP. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries spend on average 1.59% of GDP on higher education, with the UK spending 1.23% and Germany spending 1.31%.<\/p>\n

This, combined with the fact that South Africa simply does not currently have enough capacity in higher education to meet the demand, is concerning. There are 26 universities to service a population of about 54 million people. That\u2019s simply not enough, particularly when you consider that the median age in South Africa is between 22 and 25.<\/p>\n

According to the 2015 Statistics South Africa Mid-Year Population Estimate, 19% of the population falls between the ages of 15 and 29 \u2013 the approximate age range for university attendance.<\/p>\n

Comparatively speaking, Canada has 88 universities for a population of 34 million people with a median age of 39.8. In the US, there are more than 100 colleges and universities within the greater Boston area alone. The city has a median age of 31.1.<\/p>\n

In a more similar economy, Brazil, the median age is 31.1 \u2013 and there are more than 2,300 universities.<\/p>\n

The point is that South Africa maintains a large portion of its population at the age and stage where they are looking for and needing university education. But this demand is not being adequately funded in the context of increasing student numbers.<\/p>\n

Increased funding is an investment<\/h2>\n

Academics appreciate the difficult situation the government finds itself in with respect to funding. Just 22% of the population pays personal income tax. The pool of public funds remains limited even when corporate income tax, which accounts for an additional 18% of government revenue, is considered.<\/p>\n

But the time is right to think outside the box. There are alternative ways to fund higher education in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The corporate sector directly benefits from the graduates produced by universities. So it is possible to justify thinking through approaches that include their support. The Wits University Panel on Funding Model(s) for Higher Education in South Africa recently made a submission to the Fees Commission suggesting that a \u201chybrid model\u201d is required to solve the problems. Things like wealth management funds, special purpose entities and other financial instruments all offer potential funding sources.<\/p>\n

The panel didn\u2019t settle on one approach, making it clear that there are a plethora of options available if creative thinking is applied. Without this sort of thinking the sector\u2019s benefit to South Africa\u2019s economic and social develop is under threat.<\/p>\n

We have to stay focused on the fact that to improve funding is to invest in economic growth. Adequately funding South Africa\u2019s universities is an investment in skills development, youth development and social justice. It\u2019s an investment in the nation\u2019s future well-being.<\/p>\n

It is time that higher education is seen and treated as a key tool for social justice and as a crucial aspect of South Africa\u2019s developmental strategy. It is time for greater investment in the country\u2019s future \u2013 not less.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

David J Hornsby is affiliated with the Academic Staff Association of Wits University (ASAWU). www.asawu.org.za<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
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When universities aren’t properly funded, everybody loses: A year on from South Africa's #feesmustfall protests, funding remains a hot issue. Kim Ludbrook\/EPA It seems that South Africa\u2019s universities are on a knife-edge once more. Its students are ready to march again. It\u2019s striking that universities find themselves in this position less than a year after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[9045,8890,18889,9226,6188,18888,7763],"class_list":{"0":"post-76282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-arent","8":"tag-conversation","9":"tag-everybody","10":"tag-funded","11":"tag-loses","12":"tag-properly","13":"tag-universities","14":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}