Wits tells Parliament it cannot clear historical debt

Wits briefed Parliament’s higher education committee on the institution’s readiness for the 2025 academic year, governance, and teaching and learning issues.

Council chairman Isaac Shongwe told MPs that despite the ongoing student debt crisis, the vice-chancellor and public and private donors have managed to keep the institution afloat.

“Wits can’t offer free education and clear students’ historical debt – if we do so, we will become unsustainable. These are national conversations that must be held to address these matters,”  

The university revealed that it sits with R1.42 billion in unpaid student fees.

However, Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane called on Wits and other universities to halt the accumulation of interest on student debt.

“If you accumulate interest, it impacts the person on the ground who is not working and doing nothing and still looking for opportunities. So, it’s one of the key critical matters we need to look at both as the portfolio committee as well as the department working closely with the council as well as Universities South Africa.”

The briefing by Wits came as a hunger strike by students and SRC members entered its 6th day.

The aim of the strike is to highlight the institution’s failure to accommodate academically deserving students during registration.

However, the institution told Parliament that it allows many students to continue their academics without receiving tuition fees from student funding scheme NSFAS.

“The university has adequate financial resources to be able to meet its short-term obligations, our total assets at the group level R16 billion, and our total liability is R6,46 billion, which therefore means the university group was on a net asset position of almost R10 billion,” said Chief Financial Officer Maureen Manyama.

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