Finance Minister Tito Mboweni says there was a need to discuss the issue of funding for higher education.
He said he was willing to talk to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande how this could be done.
Mboweni was answering questions in the National Council of Provinces on Thursday when the matter of higher education funding was raised.
He said from his experiences when he was a student in Lesotho and the UK, he was willing to share this information with Nzimande about how it could be done in South Africa.
“Education is important for our children for the future. In fact, education is part of preparing for their own future because we won’t be here for a long time anyway. They must remain behind to manage their country, running their economy, and running their society.
“I leave the matter of what kind of an education bursary programme should be there. I leave that to the Minister of Higher Education because it seems to me what he is saying is that it is inevitable that we must review NSFAS and the whole post-Matric funding system, which I think we should,” said Mboweni.
“If he spoke to me, for example, I received my university education in Lesotho. Most of the students from Lesotho who pass Matric and simultaneously apply to the Department of Manpower for a bursary. Now, depending on the amount in the budget of the Department of Manpower that can support students, X number of bursaries were given. But they also wanted to guide you which studies they will fund, which studies they won’t fund because you won’t fund everything,” said Mboweni.
“And there was a policy in Lesotho that you are allowed to repeat once so that you don’t become a professional student and so on. You fail the second time, you are out because you must create space for other kids and the bursary for other kids,” he told MPs.
He said he was willing to talk to Nzimande on this matter of funding at higher education level.
“If the Minister of Higher Education wants to speak to me about my experience both in Lesotho and the UK about how this is done I am more than willing to speak to him. We can deal with the education issue,” said Mboweni.