Institutions of higher learning urged to scrap registration fees

Education activist Keamogetswe Masike has called for the scrapping of registration fees at institutions of higher learning.

Masike says many students remain in limbo as they wait for feedback on their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) applications as registration deadlines are fast approaching.

Masike says these challenges continue to work against underprivileged students who have to bear the brunt of systemic inequality, which affects their access to tertiary education.

“On a yearly basis, our students are facing historic debt and we still fail to understand why that is. Why must our students pay historic debt while they were funded by NSFAS? And I can tell you, many of these systematic challenges are excluding our students daily. We are saying that we’re going to go to the picket lines. We’ve also demanded free registration for 2025 because we fail to understand why students must pay these fees. I mean, we fought for free education in this country. We said that education must be free.”

Meanwhile, thousands of matriculants are still scrambling for space at universities across the country.

47.8% of the class of 2024 obtained a bachelor’s pass, which qualifies them for university entrance.

However, only a fraction might be accepted. 

Masike is calling on the Department of Education to come up with a comprehensive plan to afford more learners access to higher education. 

“Why pose these figures and money that students are supposed to pay. I mean we fought for free education in this country, it must be free and accessible to kids in particular to those that come from a poor background but we are still here facing the very same challenges and officials are sitting in their offices. We hope that these executives will not lie and they must be held accountable and tell the truth of some of the challenges that confront black students.” 

VIDEO | Masike elaborates on the challenges faced by students in universities: