Free varsity a myth, body tells fees panel

© Brian Jackson – 123RF.com

This was the submission of the Financial and Fiscal Commission to the fees commission in Pretoria yesterday.

Ramos Mabugu, head of research for the independent constitutional advisory body, said the cost for last year's "no fee" increase ranged between R2.6-billion and R4.2-billion.

"One fairly objective approach is to begin with the weights from the consumer price index, where the cost of education accounts for 2.95% of consumer spending," Mabugu said.

"Given that the student protests were sparked by a mere 10% increase in 2016, an additional R4-billion needs to be covered.

"Fee-free university education would require the injection of an additional R40-billion from the public purse to the tertiary education sector," he said.