'Free tertiary education will have financial consequences'
A Treasury official says if more money was allocated to higher education there would be consequences for the country.
Head of Treasury's Budget Office, Michael Sachs has made a presentation before the Fees Commission which is today holding public hearings in southern Gauteng.
The commission was established to look into the feasibility of free higher education in the country after the countrywide Fees Must Fall protests.
The movement last year saw thousands of students protesting for a 0% increase in higher education fees for 2016.
Treasury's presentation did not focus specifically on higher education but more on giving context and explaining how budgeting is done in the department.
Sachs explained that any money that goes towards higher education - would either have to be taken from somewhere else in the budget or taxes would have to be increased.
"One of the great things about last year's protest is that they generated a lot of debate about inefficiencies within the budget system and places within the budget system where we could allocate resources to.
"In general, there's very few areas of resource allocation resources where resources can be taken without consequences. Wherever we take resources from, there will be a consequence for that," he said.