Universities get bulk of higher education spending

Transfers to universities for subsidies and infrastructure make up 42% of the R200bn allocated to post-school education and training in the medium term‚ said the Treasury in its 2015-16 Budget Review.

By Paul Vecchiatto

26 Feb 2015

The Durban campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Image credit: Sunday Times

It said this would be an increase from R26.2bn in 2015-16 to R29bn in 2017-18‚ including R3.2bn for the construction of two new universities‚ one in Mpumalanga and the other in Northern Cape.

Spending and loan disbursements by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme were expected to reach R11.9bn in 2017-18‚ up from R9.2bn in 2014-15.

Basic education allocations over the medium-term expenditure framework would reach almost R650bn and grow at an annual rate of 6.3%‚ said the review.

Compensation of employees in the provincial departments was the largest component of spending‚ averaging 77% of the total.

"Provincial personnel planning will receive more attention to ensure that appropriate learner:teacher rations are maintained‚" the Treasury said.

Source: BDpro