Pretoria - Problems bedevilling the tertiary education sector in South Africa were broader than fees, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.
“I’ve received a briefing from student leaders on matters of concern to them, which include fees and other challenges including transformation issues as well as living condition of students,” he said after meeting with students and Vice-Chancellors at the Union Buildings in Pretoria following ten days of protests.
“I’ve also listened to the views of Vice-Chancellors and chairpersons of university councils. The meeting agreed that government needs to lead a process that goes wider than fees - looking at the higher education sector.”
Zuma announced that there would be no increase in fees at South African universities in 2016.
“On the matter at hand, we agreed that there will be a zero increase of university fees in 2016. Discussions will continue looking at broader issues than the fees,” said Zuma.“It was agreed that the Vice-Chancellors will extend the time for the examination period to compensate for the time lost. In the long-term, there is a package of issues raised at the meeting that need to be followed up.”
Students have been protesting across South Africa over the mooted fee hikes for next year. Thousands of students arrived at the Union Buildings on Friday morning ahead of Zuma’s meeting with students, university council representatives, and vice-chancellors.
They went on the rampage to showcase their discontent with the fee increases.
African News Agency
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