Zuma announces inquiry into varsity funding

Cape Town 151021. Students from different tertiary institutions forced their entry to Parliament to speak to the Minister of Tertiary education Blade Nzimande to decrease the fees at the institutions. Some students were arrested during the protest. Picture Cindy Waxa.Reporter Siya/Argus

Cape Town 151021. Students from different tertiary institutions forced their entry to Parliament to speak to the Minister of Tertiary education Blade Nzimande to decrease the fees at the institutions. Some students were arrested during the protest. Picture Cindy Waxa.Reporter Siya/Argus

Published Jan 14, 2016

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Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma on Thursday announced a commission of inquiry into the burning issue of higher education funding.

South Africa was rocked last year by university student protests against the rising cost of fees.

The #FeesMustFall campaign, which led to the shutdown of a number of university campuses around the country and even saw the storming of Parliament in Cape Town, eventually prompted Zuma to announce that there would be no fees hikes for the 2016 academic year.

While the move has left a shortfall of several billion rand, which government and universities have agreed to cover, students have continued with protests at the start of this year, with a loud call for free higher education.

The Presidency said the commission had been given eight months to complete its work and a further two months to submit its final report to the president.

African News Agency

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