Higher Education Deputy Minister Buti Manamela says universities would collapse if debts were written off

EDWIN NAIDU

AMID escalating country-wide tension over student fees at tertiary institutions across South Africa, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Buti Manamela has warned that universities would collapse if debts estimated at R16.5 billion are wiped out.

Speaking to Inside Education, as protests began earlier in the week, Manamela said the total amount owed by students was made up of new debt, as the government injected about R2 billion in 2018 to settle the historical debt.
Manamela said some paperwork between universities and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme must be finalised to understand the extent of student debt.

However, he added that any suggestion that debts be written off would mean that “most universities will go down the drain”.

“I think what we need to be working on firstly is that graduates should be employed. And once they
have a decent income, they can repay