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NWU ‘ready’ to implement free education

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North West University (NWU) says it is ready to implement free tertiary education as announced by President Jacob Zuma in December.  Those who will be eligible for it would have applied through National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and have qualified for it.

The university has provisionally admitted 13,000 students for the 2018 academic year and registration process will begin on January 22.

The Vice-chancellor of the university, Professor Dan Kgwadi met with prospective students and their parents at the Mahikeng campus to officially welcome them.

While a topical issue has been how free education is going to be implemented in higher tertiary institutions, the university has announced it is ready to implement it.

“We have now at this stage clarified a few issues with government where we know that the announcement applies to students that will have to go via NSFAS. So, all those students who are poor and needy will have to apply via NSFAS.  NSFAS has already opened again another term for applications. So, we are going to encourage students to apply via NSFAS and for those students who are admitted by NSFAS they will not have to pay registration fees,” says Kgwadi.

However, it is not all prospective students who understand that to qualify for free quality education they need to apply through NSFAS.

Eighteen-year-old Tshegetso Tshiamo is one of them. He has been provisionally admitted to study Extended Financial Accounting hoping to work in financial institutions in the future. He comes from an informal settlement of Freedom Park outside Rustenburg and his father, a truck driver, will not be able to pay for his fees.

“I didn’t know that I have to apply for NSFAS to get free education. So, now at least, I know I’ll be able to apply for NSFAS to get a free education and achieve my dream,” says Tshiamo.

The Student Representative Council (SRC) has welcomed the move by the university.

Secretary General of the SRC Bongani Mahlangu says they understand that the system will have teething problems in the beginning. However, they are ready to explain and educate the students about it.

“Students have fought long and hard to get that declaration. So, now it’s an achievement. However, we do understand it comes with constraints. One is that students have to apply and qualify for NSFAS before they can have access to that facility and we are saying the university obviously has to implement it. As it was declared, it becomes law. We also understand that it will not be a perfect system since it’s a first, but then we will fix the imperfections as we move with the system,” says Tshiamo.

The North West University has also clarified that free education will not cover the existing outstanding balances.

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