The 'missing middle' in education: which sector of society does govt prioritise, asks analyst
The mission middle, or missing link, are not poor enough to qualify for NSFAS funding, and also not affluent enough to pay for university education themselves.
With the so-called "missing middle" being placed in the spotlight by the nationwide student protests over financial inclusion in tertiary education, political analyst Levy Ndou asks which sector of society government is prioritising.
This week student protests at Wits turned deadly, and have now spilled over to most other major cities.
On Thursday, the Minister of Education, Balde Nzimande addressed a post-Cabinet meeting press conference, saying funding would be availed for National Studnet Financial Scheme (NSFAS) qualifying students to be able to register.
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However, Ndou points out that the mission middle, or missing link, are not poor enough to qualify for NSFAS funding, and also not affluent enough to pay for university education themselves.
"This actually speaks to the question of which sector of the South African population does the government prioritise," says Ndou.
"When we are talking about the missing link, we are talking about people, in the most, who provide very important services to the South African pollution," he adds, saying they include nurses, teachers, and police officers.
"A the same time these are the same people who are begin taxed more to fund higher education," he adds. saying government needs to reconsider how it responds to this group of people.
"Something needs to be done to ensure that all people are actually accommodated when it comes to funding of higher education."