Gordhan announces an additional R9-billion for NSFAS
Delivering his medium-term budget policy statement in Parliament today, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that a further R9-billion will be injected into the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for the next fiscal period.
Gordhan said that in addition to the R16-billion that had already been added to higher education funding in the February 2016 budget, Treasury proposes a further R9-billion for NSFAS over the period ahead. This will increase its funding by over 18% annually.
He says public expenditure on higher education has grown faster than any other budget item.
"At the heart of the issue, is that access has expanded faster than resources. As a result, many students face financial hardships that undermined their ability to succeed academically," he said.
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Gordhan also touched on the on-going violent fees protests.
The Finance Minister earlier accepted a memorandum of demands from #FeesMustFall students - who marched to Parliament to highlight their plight.