CAPE TOWN, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- As a new spate of student protests over tuition fee is looming, the Presidency said on Saturday that it is now finalizing the processing of a report on the feasibility of making higher education and training fee-free in South Africa.
The Presidency has been working on the report since the date President Jacob Zuma received it in August this year, presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said.
This came after representative body Universities South Africa said on Friday that students in the country should expect a fee increase of eight percent across the sector.
However, it remains to be seen whether the predicted increase will be funded by the state or by students themselves, Universities South Africa CEO Professor Ahmed Bawa said.
Bawa said universities will simply not be able to carry another zero percent fee increase.
Bawa expressed concern over Zuma's delay in releasing the Fees Commission Report, saying it places universities at "severe financial risk."
Students are planning a national day of action as their demands for Zuma to release the much-awaited Fees Commission Report intensify.
Following widespread student protests over tuition fee increases in 2015, Zuma established a Commission of Inquiry in January 2016 to investigate the feasibility of making higher education and training fee-free in the country.
After failing to present the report within the 18-month deadline, the commission had its term extended until June 30, 2017.
Zuma received the final report from the commission on August 30, 2017.
"The Presidency is now finalizing the processing of the report which requires, among other things, that the Presidency consult with the relevant ministers to ensure that government is ready to implement the president's decision as as soon he releases the report," Ngqulunga said.
The consultations are at an advanced stage and it is expected that they will be finalized during the course of next week, said the spokesperson.
"The president will release the report immediately thereafter," Ngqulunga said.
In 2015, widespread student protests erupted in all major universities across the country, triggered by tuition fee hikes ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent for the 2016 school year.
The protests continued for weeks until Zuma succumbed to students' demand for zero-percent increase in tuition fee.
