No commitments to free education: economist
An economist says it's important to note that Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan's Medium-term Budget Policy Statement did not make any commitments to free education.
Delivering his mid-term budget speech in Parliament yesterday, the Minister announced that a further R9-billion will be injected into the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for the next fiscal period. This in addition to higher education's R16-billion allocation it received in the February 2016 budget.
The head of the School of Economics and Management Sciences at Wits University, Jannie Rossouw says there was no mention of free education for all in the future of SA's education system.
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"The Minister promised more money but clearly not enough for free education. So, we did not see free education being promised in this MTBPS," he said.
The president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the policy statement has indicated that all sectors of society that they must work together to strengthen the country's economy.
Zeph Ndlovu feels Gordhan's decision for the country to have a capped expenditure ceiling is a sign of stern austerity measures.