Rhodes University keeps fee increase down to promote equitable access to education

As national elections loom, affordability of higher education and student fees are likely to come under the spotlight along with the twin challenges of poverty and the need for development. Amidst a global economic crisis that has seen the basic cost of living rise exponentially over the past year, there are many hopeful school leavers who have had to relinquish their dreams of furthering their studies at university.

The next step for many school leavers who cannot afford to study further is the overburdened employment market. However, by making higher education more affordable, we can significantly enhance access to a quality higher education for all South Africans, and contribute to the creation of employment.

One of the fundamental goals of higher education transformation in South Africa is the achievement of equity in the higher education system. According to Higher Education South Africa (HESA), in order to address affectively the needs of equity and redress, the tension between equity and development would have to be resolved through a policy of increased participation, ie a change from an elite higher education system to a mass one.

HESA has also said that the international financial crisis is exacerbating pre-existing strains on finances at South African universities: many operational costs at universities are based on imports such as equipment, chemicals and textbooks; returns on investments are lower; and universities are battling to keep up journal subscriptions.

While charging higher fees is a way of raising university income, in the context of the tertiary education environment in South Africa where institutions are grappling with issues of accessibility for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, fee increases and a lack of adequate funding are also placing severe strain on disadvantaged students and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Further, financial difficulties among the country’s growing pool of poor black students are largely to blame for the high drop-out rates from universities. First-generation students from low-income less educated families are the most likely to drop out. Limited state resources, a desperate shortage of high level skills and a pressing need to raise income levels among the poor all influence high student drop-out and failure rates.

The NSFAS supports about 120 000 of some 735 000 students in South Africa but loans and bursaries do not cover the full costs of study and poor students still struggle to meet living and other expenses.

Despite consumer inflation sitting at its current high, government last year warned universities to clamp down on fee increases. Unable to raise fees in line with inflation and rising costs, institutions would need to receive more public funding or generate more income from other sources to maintain their current, already insufficient income levels.

A welcome reprieve came in the form of a 10.8 percent increase in Department of Education subsidy to higher education in early December 2008. Government allocated R700 million to help prioritise a desired growth in the number of university students in South Africa by approximately 53 000 to reach 837 000 in 2011.

To balance its budget, Rhodes University was confronted last year with increasing tuition fees by 12 percent. However, the additional government subsidy was used to restrict the tuition fee increase for 2009 to 8.5 percent. The decision is motivated by the need particularly in the Eastern Cape to promote access to and equity within the higher education environment.

Welcoming the additional subsidy, the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Saleem Badat, indicated that Rhodes was committed to using additional subsidies to minimize tuition fee increases: “Both access and equity necessitate that tuition fees be affordable and increases be kept to a minimum. We very much welcome the additional subsidy and the opportunity that this afforded us to keep the tuition fee increase to well below the inflation level”.

Rhodes’ total number of students registered in 2009 to date is 6659 (6338 registered in 2008), of whom 3223 are black. About 25 percent of the student body are from the Eastern Cape.

A first year Bachelor of Arts at Rhodes costs R22 380, with additional ad hoc departmental charges amounting to approximately R3 500. Accommodation in residence for a first year costs between R29 400 and R30 880 depending on the grade of residence. Projected over the three-year period of a degree, with living expenses included, it is no surprise in the current global economic climates that there is a high drop out rate from South African universities. To date 650 undergraduates who were registered in 2008 have not returned to Rhodes this year.

A R330 million boost to NSFAS, however, has enabled more disadvantaged students to secure university bursaries and loans. The Department of Education already credits NSFAS with accounting for a third of the increase in enrolments at higher education institutions since the mid-1990s. NSFAS expects to support some 130 000 disadvantaged students this year with new and existing funding.

Rhodes is looking to fund approximately 750 students in 2009 as compared to the 646 students who were assisted in 2008. The University has indicated that over and above the R11 million provided by NSFAS for needy students, during 2009 it will spend some R20 million of its own funds to support eligible financially needy students. Both NSFAS and Rhodes contributions have increased by approximately 16 percent and 28 percent respectively.

There are further measures that can be taken to support efforts to keep fee increases affordable through the efficient management of a university. Rhodes has, as an example, managed to cut their 2009 food budget by R2 million simply by switching from a cooked breakfast to a continental menu. This translated into a restriction of the residence fee to 12 percent as opposed to a recommended 18 percent.

Op-ed by Lebogang Hashatse, Marketing and Communication Manager at Rhodes University