2016 Annual Report

It has been an extraordinary year for the higher education sector, and probably one of the most arduous periods for vice-chancellors and university communities in post-democratic South Africa.
It is without a doubt the year in which the persistent underfunding of universities was brought to the fore through an approach that resulted in intense scrutiny from all sectors, both within and beyond the borders of South Africa. The university system was placed under severe threat and were it not for the strong leadership
shown by members of Universities South Africa (USAf), vice-chancellors and other societal actors, the collapse of the system would have been imminent.

However, despite the turbulence, the state’s cap on fee increases and the particularly violent protests that plagued our campuses, the doors of higher learning remain open today. While uncertainty about the future funding of the sector remains, we must acknowledge that the chronic underfunding of the sector has been a long-term challenge that in due course would have resulted in universities’ becoming increasingly unsustainable. We remain optimistic that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education Funding will directly address this crucial historical socioeconomic challenge, which ultimately impacts on the development of our country and the continent, and society as a whole.
One of the key strengths of USAf was our ability to efficaciously make common, detailed submissions to the Presidential Commission and the Centre for Higher Education (and by extension the Department of Higher Education and Training), with appropriate sets of recommendations regarding what we determined were acceptable funding solutions for university education.