Johnathan Paoli
THE African Transformation Movement has called upon universities to scrap application fees for an inclusive access to education.
In a statement on Monday, the party said that it stood at the forefront of advocating for equitable access to education for all South Africans and that the ATM commended those institutions such as the University of the Free State for taking a step in the scrapping of application fees entirely, thus reinforcing the principle of education being a beacon of accessibility.
“It has come to our attention that institutions like the University of the Witwatersrand, receiving a staggering 140 000 applications, each valued at R200, accumulates a substantial R28 000 000, and questions the rationale behind such fees and seeks transparency regarding the allocation and utilisation of these funds,” the party said.
The party said that in light of the poverty of the country, where even a modest amount of R200 could mean weekly groceries for struggling families, it remained imperative for university management to revisit the necessity of application fees and urged the institutions to approach this issue with a deep understanding of the economic challenges faced by a significant portion of the population.
The party aligned itself to and referenced the Fees Must Fall movement, and said the urgency of realising the principles not only in tuition fees but also in the context of application fees, brought into stark contradiction the fact that, despite the university receiving an overwhelming amount of applications, the available spaces were limited to 6200 prospective students.
In solidarity with UFS, the party said it is encouraging other universities to follow suit in the pursuit of a more inclusive and accessible education system.
“Let us collectively strive towards a South Africa where education is a catalyst for positive transformations, unburdened by financial constraints,” party president Vuyo Zungula said.
However Wits university has denied the implications and said that it only charged R100 for application fees in agreement with the department of Higher Education.
The university said that the funds went to student support and the academic project and that the institution did not profit.
Wits spokesperson Shirona Patel confirmed that the registration process was well underway.
Patel said that in light of the institution’s limited capacity, a particular process was followed in order to ensure an effective handling of the numbers.
“What we do is we make offers to students with the highest score, and they have three days to accept the offer. Then we move down the list to the next batch of students who have great matric results,” Patel said.
INSIDE POLITICS
