HIGHER Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande says talks of university fee adjustments for 2017 will continue for another two weeks.
Nzimande has been in continuing consultations with university vice-chancellors and council chairs‚ student leaders and youth organisations‚ organised labour‚ faith communities and government officials, against a backdrop of anti-fees student protests on campuses around the country.
"We want to ensure that academically capable young people are not denied access to higher education because they come from historically disadvantaged backgrounds‚ while at the same time ensuring that universities are sustained and strengthened‚" he said on Wednesday.
While seeking solutions to fund poorer students‚ he said the government was also committed to providing better support for middle-class students.
"The government recognises the burden that working and middle-class families bear in supporting their children through basic education and into higher education‚ and the need to find workable solutions for these groups that are not currently supported through NSFAS."
NSFAS is the state-funded National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
Nzimande said: "And while we look for these solutions‚ we need to ensure that the principle of social justice is supported and the affluent in our society assist to support those who cannot pay."
He said there was broad agreement that the challenges faced were a societal problem‚ and the responsibility "cannot be shouldered by the government alone. It is a collective responsibility that includes all sectors of society".
