Facebook <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/introducing-facebook-campus/" target="_blank">launched</a> a new ‘Facebook Campus’ feature Thursday that aims to connect college students with their campus communities, returning the social network to its initial college-only roots as students across the country contend with virtual learning and decreased opportunities for face-to-face socializing amid the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h5>



Facebook Campus will be a dedicated section within the regular Facebook app, in which students can have separate Campus profiles from their regular Facebook profile and join school-specific groups and events, as well as access a campus directory and special chat rooms.



Students will need to use their college email as verification in order to join their school’s page.



The feature is rolling out to only 30 schools to begin with, including Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Duke University, Georgia State University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania.



Facebook was originally developed for college students — its name comes from the directories with headshots that some schools distributed to help students get to know each other — before the platform opened up to the general public in 2006.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/introducing-facebook-campus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>&nbsp;announcing the new feature, Facebook specifically tied Facebook Campus’ launch to the rise of virtual learning amid the pandemic, noting that students being away from their colleges make it now “more important than ever” to “stay connected to college life.”



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h5>



994. That’s the number of U.S. colleges whose fall semesters are confirmed to be fully or primarily online, according to Davidson College’s&nbsp;<a href="https://collegecrisis.shinyapps.io/dashboard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">College Crisis Initiative</a>, as compared with only 69 that are fully in person and 567 that are primarily in person.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h5>



School and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/09/07/reckless-and-reprehensible-frat-party-linked-to-coronavirus-outbreak-at-unh-here-are-the-latest-college-coronavirus-updates/#480c1c7bb3a0">university reopenings</a>&nbsp;have been a major issue as the Covid-19 pandemic has stretched into the fall, with schools either remaining virtual or facing the possibility of coronavirus outbreaks if they resume in-person classes. More than 40,000 cases of Covid-19 have already been reported among students, faculty and staff at colleges and universities in all 50 states, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html?utm_term=link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=2020-09-10T14%3A10%3A03&amp;utm_source=twCNN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN</a>, and some schools have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-08-19/universities-wave-the-white-flag-in-the-face-of-campus-coronavirus-outbreaks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">returned</a>&nbsp;to virtual learning amid new outbreaks. Decreased socialization among students has been an issue even when they’ve been allowed to return to campus, with schools&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/21/colleges-point-fingers-students-partying-spreading-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">discouraging partying</a>—which has already been linked to Covid-19 outbreaks—and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyu-suspends-over-20-students-for-violating-covid-rules/2604047/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suspending</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uconn-students-evicted-dorms-holding-pandemic-party-schools-grapple-covid-n1237311" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evicting</a>&nbsp;students for holding or taking part in gatherings.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h5>



Facebook has typically been viewed as less popular among Generation Z compared with other social networks like Instagram and Snapchat; a 2019 Business Insider&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loves-snapchat-instagram-and-youtube-social-media-2019-6#:~:text=It's%20no%20surprise%20that%20Gen%20Z%20likes%20to%20use%20social%20media.&amp;text=In%20a%20Business%20Insider%20survey,they%20use%20it%20every%20day." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">poll</a>&nbsp;found that only 34% of 13-21 year olds check Facebook daily, as compared with 65% who check Instagram (which is also owned by Facebook) and 51% who check Snapchat.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h5>



<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/introducing-facebook-campus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Introducing Facebook Campus</a>&nbsp;(Facebook Newsroom)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/09/07/reckless-and-reprehensible-frat-party-linked-to-coronavirus-outbreak-at-unh-here-are-the-latest-college-coronavirus-updates/#480c1c7bb3a0">‘Reckless’ And ‘Reprehensible’ Frat Party Linked To Coronavirus Outbreak At UNH: Here Are The Latest College Coronavirus Updates</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/08/17/outbreaks-hit-fraternities-sororities-and-dorms-as-college-parties-resume/#45cc58c12050">Outbreaks Hit Fraternities, Sororities And Dorms As College Parties Resume</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-a-list-of-colleges-plans-for-reopening-in-the-fall/?bc_nonce=yrepzcfjygqcjbx59rhdtn&amp;cid=reg_wall_signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Here’s Our List of Colleges’ Reopening Models</a>&nbsp;(Chronicle of Higher Education)



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html?utm_term=link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=2020-09-10T14%3A10%3A03&amp;utm_source=twCNN" target="_blank">Colleges in all 50 states report coronavirus cases as clusters linked to social gatherings grow</a> (CNN)



By Alison Durkee,Forbes Staff

Young business woman wearing a mask

Facebook Announces New Campus Pages To Connect College Students Amid Coronavirus

When people talk about quality education, they’re often referring to the kind of education that gives students the knowledge and skills they need for the job market. But there’s a view that quality education has wider benefits: it develops individuals in ways that help develop society more broadly.



In Zimbabwe, for example, the higher education policy emphasises student employability and the alleviation of labour shortages. But, as my research found, this isn’t happening in practice.



University education needs to do more than produce a graduate who can get a job. It should also give graduates a sense of right and wrong. And it should instil graduates with an appreciation for other people’s development.



Tertiary education should also give students opportunities, choices and a voice when it comes to work safety, job satisfaction, security, growth and dignity. Higher education is a space where they can learn to be critical. It must prepare them for participating in the economy and broader society.



This isn’t happening in Zimbabwe. Graduate unemployment is high and employers and policy makers are blaming this largely on the mismatch between graduate skills and market requirements.



Investigating Zimbabwe’s universities My research sought to examine how a human development lens could add to what was valued as higher education, and the kind of graduate outcomes produced in Zimbabwe. I investigated 10 of the universities in Zimbabwe (there were 15 at the time of the research). Four were private and six public.



I reviewed policy documents, interviewed representatives of institutions and held discussions with students. Members of Zimbabwe’s higher education quality assurance body and university teaching staff were also included.



I found that in practice, higher education in Zimbabwe was influenced by the country’s socio-political and economic climate. Decisions and appointments of key university administrators in public universities and the minister of higher education were largely political.



In addition, resources were limited and staff turnover was high. Universities just couldn’t finance themselves through tuition fees.



Different players in the higher education system – employers, the government, academics, students and their families – have different ideas about what “quality” means in higher education. The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education understands quality as meeting set standards and benchmarks that emphasise the graduates’ knowledge and skills.



To some extent, academics and university administrators see quality as teaching and learning that gives students a mixture of skills and values such as social responsibility.



But lecturers must comply with the largely top-down approach to quality. They tend to do whatever will enhance students’ prospects of getting employment in a particular market.



The educators and students I interviewed acknowledged that developing the ability to work and to think critically were both central to higher education. But they admitted that these goals were hard to attain. This was because of the country’s constrained socio-political and economic environment. Academics and students felt that they couldn’t express themselves freely and critical thinking was suppressed.



Stuck on a road to nowhere The study illustrates how an over-emphasis on creating human capital – skilled and knowledgeable graduates – limits higher education’s potential to foster broader human and social development.



University education should do more, especially in developing countries such as Zimbabwe that face not just economic, but also socio-political challenges. Before building more universities and enrolling more students, authorities and citizens should consider what quality education means in relation to the kind of society they want.



It’s possible to take a broader view of development, quality and the role of higher education. This broader approach – one that appreciates social justice – can equip graduates to address the country’s problems.



The road ahead Universities can’t change a society on their own. But their teaching and learning practices can make an important difference.



Because quality teaching and learning means different things to different people, people need to talk about it democratically. Institutional and national policies must be informed by broad consultations to identify the knowledge, skills and values they want graduates to have.



University teaching and learning should emphasise freedom of expression and participation so that students can think and act critically beyond university.



Also, academics don’t automatically know how to teach just because they have a PhD. Universities should therefore ensure that academics learn how to teach and communicate their knowledge. Curriculum design, student assessment and feedback, as well as training of lecturers should all support this goal of human development.



When universities see quality in terms of human development, their role becomes more than production of workers in an economy. It gives them a mandate to nurture ethically responsible graduates. These more rounded graduates are better equipped to imagine an alternative future in pursuit of a better society, economically, politically and socially.



&#8211;Patience Mukwambo: Researcher, University of the Free State



The Conversation



<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122820/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

Cropped shot of a graduate receiving their certificate

Quality Higher Education Means More Than Learning How To Work

Chris Pilgrim, the new CEO of Transnational Academic Group West Africa and Lancaster University Ghana, on the potential game-changers in higher education on the continent.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



It is to a verdant academic campus in Ghana&nbsp;&nbsp; that Chris Pilgrim will be packing his bags from the dunes of Dubai. As the new CEO of Transnational Academic Group (TAG) West Africa and Lancaster University Ghana, Pilgrim will provide students across emerging markets access to post-secondary and executive education. 



TAG currently owns and operates Lancaster University’s campus in Ghana, Curtin University’s Dubai campus, and South Africa-based ABN Training in partnership with the Australian Institute of Management in Western Australia. 



Pilgrim, who has helped develop TAG’s expansion in Africa and has over 25 years of experience in the higher education sector, spoke to FORBES AFRICA about skills-building, STEM and job creation:



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2019/02/02/education-quality-and-the-youth-skills-gap-are-marring-progress-in-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Education Quality and the Youth Skills Gap Are Marring Progress in Africa (opens in a new tab)">Education Quality and the Youth Skills Gap Are Marring Progress in Africa</a>



1. Are more universities looking to set up here?



A. With over half a million African students studying abroad annually, the continent has the highest outbound student ratio (number of outbound tertiary students/total number of tertiary students) in the world. Along with this annual migration of students comes capital flight, increased brain drain, and a hesitancy to build further world-class higher education capacity on the continent.



TAG partners with globally top-ranked universities to provide the highest quality of higher education in emerging market nations, thereby reversing, albeit modestly, the flow of students. 



Our campus in Ghana, in partnership with Lancaster University (ranked sixth in the UK), provides world-class higher education capacity for West Africans, and it has seen students from other countries, including outside of Africa, take up enrolment. 



TAG’s Lancaster University Ghana is the only comprehensive UK university campus in mainland Africa, and while TAG is undertaking steps to open similar branch campuses in other African countries, other investors and top-ranked universities have not moved to open campuses in the region.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DA3A0125-copy-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-39470" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DA3A0125-copy-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DA3A0125-copy-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DA3A0125-copy-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DA3A0125-copy-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DA3A0125-copy-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DA3A0125-copy.jpg 1365w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption> Chris Pilgrim, the CEO of Transnational Academic Group West Africa and Lancaster University Ghana.</figcaption></figure></div>



2. How can Africa build skills, capacity and create more jobs?



A. While there has been a modest growth of employment in the formal job sector in some countries, many of Africa’s youth are more likely today to take up work in the informal sectors and in family enterprises. 



Africa, as a region, has the largest youth population in the world, and with over 11 million young people expected to enter the job market each year, its economies are stretched to productively absorb Africa’s greatest asset – this youth population. 



While the continent’s education capacities and output are integral to leveraging this youth population into a potential demographic dividend, investments, both private and public, into relevant higher education capacities, particularly STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) capacity, are limited. 



In the long-term, addressing the underlying causes of unemployment and skills-gap lies in increasing enrolment in secondary and tertiary education, with a focus on STEM, thus enabling graduates to participate in the new economies and globalization emerging with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship are fundamental to creating the jobs of the future.



3. What is the increasing role of STEM programs?



A. While the vital importance of STEM education to infrastructure development, healthcare, energy security, agriculture, and the environment are well cited over the past decade, the role of STEM and digital skills in preparing for 4IR are potential game-changers. 



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2019/02/04/kenyan-approach-holds-promise-for-boosting-early-childhood-education/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Kenyan Approach Holds Promise for Boosting Early Childhood Education (opens in a new tab)">Kenyan Approach Holds Promise for Boosting Early Childhood Education</a>



African nations need to develop “future-ready curricula that encourage critical thinking, creativity and emotional intelligence as well as accelerate acquisition of digital and STEM skills to match the way people will work and collaborate in 4IR” (Source: WEF 2017 The Future of Jobs and Skills in Africa). 



Lancaster University Ghana has been delivering relevant computer science curriculum since its inception, and is set to launch programs in engineering this year, followed by additional programs in STEM disciplines.



4. How are you creating future leaders?



A. TAG Ghana works closely with Lancaster University to assure that our students receive an education that is relevant both locally, and in the global context. We work closely with industry and the community to understand their needs so our graduates are employment-ready. 



– Interviewed by Methil Renuka

Group portrait of graduates in campus corridor

4 Ways To Develop Employment-Ready Graduates

Perhaps most famously, Route 128 and Silicon Valley in the United States developed around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford universities, while key European knowledge regions developed at the Sophia Antipolis high-tech park in Côte d’Azur, France, and the Leuven region in Belgium.
In Africa, however, it is a relatively new phenomenon. But some universities on the continent are working towards setting themselves up as catalysts of innovation and entrepreneurship. Notable mentions must go to the University of Nairobi and the American University in Cairo, but South Africa is leading the charge.
The likes of Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) are focusing more than ever on equipping their students to be entrepreneurs, primarily in response to unemployment issues in the country. Almost 50% of those aged between 15 and 24 in South Africa are without a job, and some tertiary institutions are adapting by equipping them to become job creators.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2018/06/04/under-30-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Forbes Africa Under 30 Technology Entrepreneurs</a>
Bakang Moetse is Impact Investing Project Manager at the Bertha Centre, a dedicated entrepreneurial unit within the Graduate School of Business at UCT. She says high youth unemployment had made the promotion of entrepreneurship an imperative for many African governments.
“Whilst government may be responsible for creating an enabling environment for the development of businesses, universities play a key role in delivering skills and expertise, as well as creating enabling environments for incubation of entrepreneurs,” says Moetse.
Universities also stand to gain. At a time when the relevance of university degrees has come into question due to the number of unemployed graduates and lack of employment readiness of those graduates who do enter the workforce, promoting entrepreneurship provides a way of ensuring universities continue to be recognized as key to the development of societies and economies.
“For universities interested in taking on a more active role in this regard, there is a competitive advantage to be gained in becoming leaders within this field of research, which can further bolster their credentials,” says Moetse.
Stellenbosch University runs its own incubator – LaunchLab – and also invests in some student-run tech startups. Head of Incubation Brandon Paschal says universities that do so will produce more employable and resilient graduates, and their reputations will grow as such.
“Also, with the current student fee climate, if universities are not backing and pursuing commercializing university technology, their financial sustainability and broader access to tertiary education is in jeopardy,” he says.
So how have startups incubated by universities benefitted? G-J van Rooyen was an associate professor at Stellenbosch, and launched his bitcoin-based anti-piracy startup Custos Media Technologies out of LaunchLab. He says it had been a great space from which to grow an early-stage company.
“At a startup, you&#8217;re constantly juggling concerns and issues. Being in a supportive environment where space and facilities are one less thing to worry about makes a huge difference,” Van Rooyen says. “Since LaunchLab is a hub for startups and investors, it directly impacted our fundraising efforts, and introduced us to our angel investor.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-36756 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-1024x679.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="679" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-1024x679.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-600x398.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/edit-launchlab-12-of-94.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Michael-John Dippenaar’s on-demand storage space startup Sxuirrel first encountered LaunchLab after winning a competition run by the incubator, earning funding and support.
“Amongst other intangibles thereafter, and in the period leading up to then and now, we gained help in the form of advice, community and networks,” Dippenaar says.
“We had support in finding lawyers, connecting to additional entrepreneurs to learn from, and access to soft-skill building resources.”
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/06/05/investment-marketplace-coming-to-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Investment Marketplace Coming To Africa</a>
Training students – and professors – in entrepreneurial skills and providing them a safe space from which to launch their ideas in one thing, but universities also need to ensure they have solid links with corporates and funders to help incubated startups scale. This can be a challenge.
However, Tine Fisker Henriksen, Senior Project Manager, Innovative Finance, at Bertha Centre, says the credibility associated with university brands lends itself to bringing in new partnerships and streams of funding entrepreneurs on their own would not be able to tap into.
“We are seeing increased interest from the corporate sector to get involved in supporting entrepreneurship, and we have managed to establish partnerships that have been valuable in this regard,” she says.
“From our point of view, there is great potential to expand this beyond mere sponsorship of events and once-off fundraising, as is commonly the case, and move in the direction of more sustainable partnerships approaches for rising entrepreneurs.”
The initiatives at places like Stellenbosch and UCT are well developed, with a track record of helping startups launch and raise funding for their next stage of development, but are enough universities following their lead?
Paschal says there is some evidence of this, but it takes time to transform very traditional and conservative institutions. Part of the challenge is that “startup skills” are intangible, EQ-related things that you cannot learn in a classroom.
“The push for universities spinning out companies, and supporting startups and SMEs, is disrupting the traditional role of universities. The trend is going in this direction, but generally universities are battling to get beyond the academic side,” he says.
Henriksen agrees more needs to be done.
“We have seen the top universities develop more entrepreneurial courses, hubs and initiatives. But there is definitely room for greater involvement, and coordination of efforts in this space to create a synergized impact,” she says.
&#8211; Tom Jackson

BANNER-LaunchLab-12-of-67

Africa’s New Silicon Valleys

Public discussion about higher education funding in South Africa has been beset by numerous fictions and misunderstandings since the Fees Must Fall movement emerged in 2015. These have been compounded by the political opportunism of President Jacob Zuma and his advisors.
In mid-December 2017, with <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/education/2017-12-16-breaking-news-zuma-blindsided-treasury-in-free-higher-education-decision/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">relatively little consultation</a> or planning, Zuma <a href="http://www.presidency.gov.za/press-statements/president%E2%80%99s-response-heher-commission-inquiry-higher-education-and-training" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that in 2018 free higher education would be provided to all new first year students from families that earn less than R350,000 per year.
Having participated in the <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/CHE_South%20African%20higher%20education%20reviewed%20-%20electronic_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20-year review of South African higher education</a> in 2013, advised parliamentarians on different funding proposals in 2015, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/options-on-the-table-as-south-africa-wrestles-with-funding-higher-education-87688" target="_blank" rel="noopener">engaged</a> with a report by the commission Zuma set up to examine fee structures, it’s become apparent to me that it is critical to debunk a number of prevalent myths around higher education funding.
The current public “debates” contain many myths or misconceptions about what free tertiary education would mean, ranging from the implications of free higher education proposals for poverty and inequality to the feasibility of funding such proposals. Unless these myths are unmasked the free higher education debate will remain misguided and likely lead to very different, negative outcomes.
In many respects, Zuma’s free higher education proposal is the worst kind of populism. It’s been sold as a radically progressive policy that can be achieved with no negative consequences. But it will actually do very little for the neediest South Africans. And it could have negative consequences for the stability and progressiveness of public expenditure.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2016/11/01/frustration-fans-flames/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Frustration Fans The University Flames</a>
<h2>Busting myths</h2>
Myth 1: Spending on higher education is about helping the poor
When the Fees Must Fall movement emerged, it insisted its fundamental demands were based on concern for poor South Africans. The movement argued that this group was effectively excluded from higher education or disadvantaged in their studies because they could not afford the fees and other costs of studying.
The idea that the movement for free higher education is based on a concern for poor youth is clearly absurd when you consider that <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-feesmustfall-protests-some-inconvenient-truths-67516" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only 5%</a> of South Africans aged between 15 and 34 are students in universities, while 34% are unemployed.
A recent, comprehensive evaluation by South African and international academic economists for the World Bank, examined the effect of government spending and taxation on inequality. Using data on who pays taxes and who benefits from different kinds of public spending, it <a href="http://www.econ3x3.org/article/how-much-inequality-reduced-progressive-taxation-and-government-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that higher education was the least progressive of all social expenditure. It did the least to reduce inequality, since higher education benefits only a very small proportion of the population and those who do benefit tend to come from wealthier households than the vast majority of South Africans.
Myth 2: There are no consequences for increasing taxes or increasing borrowing
Even if higher education is not the most progressive way to use public money, some supporters of free higher education have argued that it could be more progressive than existing studies suggest – provided the money is raised from wealthier South Africans.
Strictly speaking, this is true. The problem is that supporters of Fees Must Fall have written about possible ways of raising revenue as if the money is effectively free. Proposals such as “double the <a href="http://www.sars.gov.za/TaxTypes/SDL/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skills levy</a> on companies” or “increase income taxes” are empty; they fail to address the negative consequences of tax increases.
A higher skills levy, paid by firms to fund national training initiatives, means lower profits for firms and potentially less investment. Higher income taxes could lead to greater tax avoidance measures, shifts in how employers remunerate employees, or a reduction in people’s working hours. All these could lead to revenue decreasing. Such dynamics need to at least be taken into account when tabling such proposals. But this has not happened.
The result could be a reliance on taxes, <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/economy/2017-11-13-news-analysis-vat-hike-essential-to-plug-hole-in-revenue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like VAT</a>, that are harder to avoid because they are paid by the vast majority of South Africans. There’s a perverse consequence to all this: “free higher education” could actually increase inequality.
This myth-making has recently been compounded by Zuma’s proposal and its advocacy by one of his advisors, Morris Masutha.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2016/12/01/valiant-cause-losing-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Valiant Cause Losing Its Way</a>
Myth 3: Free higher education will reduce youth unemployment and save on future social spending
Masutha claims that free higher education <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/watch-free-higher-education-funds-itself-says-zuma-education-advisor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will “fund itself”</a>, primarily by reducing future social security spending on social grants and government-built houses. He insists that abolishing fees will lead to higher economic growth.
Given the <a href="http://resep.sun.ac.za/index.php/lmip-conference-presents-new-view-on-challenges-of-tertiary-education-in-sa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tiny proportion</a> of poor youth who can access higher education through their basic education results, the claim about social expenditure is clearly false.
There is a positive relationship between higher education and economic growth. But the current proposal could only “pay for itself” if it produced dramatically more graduates and so increased their economic contribution. There is no reason to believe an effect of that scale is likely and no modelling has been provided to support such claims.
Myth 4: Zuma’s December 2017 proposal is the best way to help poor and needy students
Zuma’s proposal contains two extremely dishonest components: the definition of “poor and working class” students and the limiting of the policy in 2018 to new first year students.
It effectively proposes that in 2018 a first year student from a family earning R340,000 per year will get full government support. But a second year student from a family earning R130,000 will get no support. And a student from the R340,000/year family will get the same support as a student from a R20,000/year family.
This clearly doesn’t prioritise poor students.
A <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/21700/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rough costing</a> by the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2015 suggested that the threshold could be raised to R217,000 per year for all students. This would benefit more needy students and, at an estimated cost of R12.5 billion, been far more feasible than what Zuma has proposed.
Myth 5: Zuma’s proposal is feasible because it “only” costs R12 billion &#8211; R15 billion
Current estimates put the cost of Zuma’s proposal in 2018 at between R12 billion and R15 billion. Some commentators have suggested this cost will remain static in future. That is almost certainly false.
It would only be true if such funding was either not extended to students entering universities in 2019 or was taken away from the 2018 cohort. Neither scenario makes any sense. Instead, funding is likely to be extended to second years in 2019 and third years in 2020. That will likely lead to an annual cost of <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/no-comment-sachs-says-over-masuthas-fee-free-lying-claim-20180104" target="_blank" rel="noopener">R40 billion</a> or more.
An increase of R12 to R15 billion <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/fee-free-university-education-regressive-davis-tax-committee-report-20171113" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may be affordable</a>. But a R40billion increase is an entirely different proposition.
<h2>Critical decisions</h2>
Thousands of new students are being registered at universities right now. The 2018 Budget is set to be tabled next month with public finances under extreme pressure. Given this reality, it’s critical that all the myths surrounding “free” higher education are laid to rest.
Only then can difficult decisions be taken in the best interests of all South Africans. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sean-mfundza-muller-298216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seán Mfundza Muller</a>, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Research Associate at the Public and Environmental Economics Research Centre (PEERC), <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Johannesburg</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90474/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />

Free higher education in South Africa: cutting through the lies and statistics

Three, two, one…
That was the chilling countdown from over 300 students as they prepared to hurl rocks at private security on the steps of the Great Hall of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).
It came after days of running battles between police and students and eventually spilled onto the streets of Braamfontein in Johannesburg; a bus burned and shops were smashed and looted. The skirmishes got so out of hand that a rubber bullet was fired into the face of a priest. These were scenes reminiscent of the dark days before democracy two decades ago.
There was a nationwide shutdown, from the colonnades of the University of Cape Town (UCT) in the south to the deserted halls of the University of Mpumalanga in the north. For a second consecutive year, angry students, with their #FeesMustFall movement, launched a howl of outrage with demands for free education.
<div id="attachment_5362" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5362" class="size-medium wp-image-5362" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FeesMustFall_Oct10_JC-18-300x206.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="206" />Naitonwide student protest for free education. Using the #feesmustfall slogan.</div>
“We have nothing to lose. At the end of the day, we can barely afford to be here. My mom had to sell her car and downsize her house for me to be here. It’s tough out here and now [Vice-Chancellor Adam Habib] wants to police us if our calls aren’t legitimate,” says Malwande Mhambe, a final year international relations and political studies student.
The protest has escalated since 2015. It has evolved into a call for so-called decolonized universities that students say favour the privileged white middle-class.
“It is something that the youth has been calling for over 20 years now. We want more black students to be able to come to university and to have a better chance of participating in the economy,” says Busisiwe Seabe, leader of #FeesMustFall.
The violent campus backlash this year was sparked by Minister of Higher Education and Learning Blade Nzimande saying ‘those who can pay, must’ at the close of the Fees Commission, a government enquiry set to tackle the issue.
“We strongly condemn the actions of striking students who clearly do not want to see the completion of the academic program. They continue to disrupt and intimidate students who want to continue with their studies and in so doing deny the majority of students their right to higher education,” says Nzimande.
According to Statistics South Africa, university fees have soared by 80% since 2008. Government capped university increases at 8% for 2017. Nearly R300 billion ($21 billion) was allocated to education in 2016, making up 20% of the budget. This is almost double the amount spent on health.
<div id="attachment_5373" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5373" class="size-medium wp-image-5373" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FeesMustFall_Oct10_JC-19-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />FeesMustFall</div>
#FeesMustFall The Tip Of The Iceberg
The students may call for free education, but columnist Max du Preez, argues what has developed is an “extreme race rhetoric”, whereby a “legitimate struggle against whiteness and white privilege is being overtaken by a populist assault on white citizens.”
“It’s time to face the reality. The ‘revolution’ on our campuses is not primarily about university fees any longer. Nor is it about the ‘decolonization’ of the curricula. The subtext, the unspoken agenda, is beginning to look more and more like an effort to create a mini Arab Spring moment and to turn the entire post-1994 dispensation on its head,” Du Preez writes in his column.
Many of the ‘Fallists’, including Wits Student Representative Council’s secretary-general Fasiha Hassan, claim that they are only reacting to police brutality. It is believed that a minority have been fanning the flames of destruction, perpetuated by media coverage.
The rubble and burning debris, on the streets of Braamfontein and on campus, tell their own story.
“Some of these elements, like the Wits protest leader Mcebo Dlamini and UCT’s Chumani Maxwele, are clearly narcissists playing revolution,” says Du Preez.
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, a former journalist herself, says the protest needs to be tackled head on, without violence.
“We shouldn’t be shooting bullets at kids. We should have our police force with really good shields at all campuses protecting people’s right to study.”
Public policing has overreacted and inflamed confrontation.
“There is no other way out of this. What we have seen is negotiation after negotiation; the goal posts get moved every single time. It’s a deliberate strategy because people don’t want a resolution, they want a revolution and the challenge is you can’t assume people are acting in good faith,” she says.
The fight for free education is fuelled by frustration.
&nbsp;
$400-Million Brain Drain
While the government scrambles to find money, universities say they can’t survive without fees. South Africa faces an even greater threat should universities close down – a crippling R5.6-billion ($400-million) brain drain if graduates are not allowed to finish the year.
The University of Pretoria’s Roula Inglesi-Lotz, Associate Professor of Economics, and Heinrich Bohlmann, Senior Lecturer, believe that the economy stands to lose $400 million if 90% of its 80,000 graduates do not take up positions next year. This is based on an Australian-based economic model designed by the University of Pretoria, in collaboration with global think tank, the Centre of Policy Studies.
Max Price, UCT Vice Chancellor, says if the university does not continue academic activity, it will have to close for the rest of the year. It means thousands of students expecting to work in 2017, including 400 of 4,500 medical students, will not graduate and create a black hole for the economy.
<div id="attachment_5374" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5374" class="size-medium wp-image-5374" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FeesMustFall_Oct10_JC-21-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />FeesMustFall</div>
The University of Stellenbosch is also staring debt in the face. If it does not increase its fees, it will lose R50 million ($3.5 million) in academia and another R80 million ($5.6 million) on accommodation.
Students who have outstanding loans face hard times. Mmakatleho Sefatsa, a 19-year-old second-year education student and her family’s first graduate, is in over her head with R70,000 ($5,000) debt.
“Even if you don’t protest, at the end of the year the university is still going to send you a letter to say: ‘look you haven’t paid for two years, you have to leave’.”
Sefatsa is part of the missing middle – she is not poor enough to qualify for financial aid, and not wealthy enough to pay for her education.
The government plans to restructure fee payments based on students’ wealth: households that earn less than R120,000 ($8,500) a year won’t pay; the government will subsidize the difference in fee increases for the middle class, or missing middle, between R120,000 ($8,500) and R600,000 ($42,500); while the affluent will pay.
Undergraduate tuition fees at Wits can reach almost R60,000 ($4,200) a year.
Back at Wits, classes have continued under duress and with heavy police presence. The university’s spokesperson, Shirona Patel, says they will not give up.
“We need to finish the academic program this year and we need to have exams written. This will be our key focus for the next two weeks. Despite yesterday’s disruptions, we still had about half of our classes going and we’ll keep going every day until we get the academic program back on track.”
UCT, the University of Pretoria, and the Tshwane University of Technology, attempted to keep their doors open. Threats and escalating violence forced them to shut down.  Negotiations appear to have ground to a stuttering, and painful, halt.
“Access to higher education, particularly for the poor is everyone’s concern and therefore all stakeholders must play an active role in saving our 2016 academic program. Ongoing negotiations cannot stand in the way of classes resuming, dialogue is the only answer, and intimidation and violence will never address the legitimate concerns of students,” says Nzimande.
With negotiations stuttering and the academic year coming to an end, time is running out.
Why Free Education Won’t Favor The Poor
Students want free education, but do any of them know what it means.
Nico Cloete, Director of the Centre for Higher Education Trust at the University of the Western Cape, says students are asking the wrong questions.
“There is no such thing as ‘free higher education’. Universities are very expensive. Rather, the issue is who pays what and when? Secondly, international research shows that ‘there is broad agreement among economists of higher education funding that government subsidies are regressive, meaning subsidies favor the rich’. According to Nicholas Barr from the London School of Economics, public universities often argue that low or no tuition fees provide greater equality of educational opportunity, but that the overwhelming subsidy in public universities accrues to students from middle- and high-income families,” he says.
Cloete is one of the academics who submitted documents to the Fees Commission.
“The question to be addressed by the Fees Commission should have been: What is required for a sustainable higher education system with affordability for those who qualify for access?”
Higher education is seen as a ladder into the affluent middle class. The World Bank reports that South Africa has the highest private return to tertiary education. University graduates are three to five times more likely to find a job than high school graduates.
Cloete argues, of the million students who enter school, about 110,000 will enrol at university and 55,000 will graduate after five years. But, 45% of all undergraduates, and 70% of the poor on student financial aid, never graduate.
“So, the issue is not whether there is enough money for free tertiary education, the issue is to fix the undergraduate university and the college systems, provide vastly expanded education and training opportunities, put in place a modern progressive graduate tax (instead of an outdated loan scheme) and stop raiding the treasury. While the Fees Commission and the media are looking at money, the issue is political and systemic.”
The road will be long and arduous. It will take another three years to successfully transform university structures and integrate reform into the national budget, says Price. UCT and Wits also claim that 90% of its students want academic activity to continue and this majority is being held to ransom by a small group of ‘bullies’.
Meanwhile, the frustrated students who bay for change want it now, without paying another cent.

Frustration Fans The Flames

“Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration.”: a saying by Thomas Edison that could be applied to Brent Kairuz.
At the age of 19, he stopped being a karate instructor to open his first food outlet, Shawarma King. That was the beginning of a journey that would eventually see the 36-year-old own 28 coffee shops in partnership with South African food giant Famous Brands.
Kairuz arrived 30 minutes early at our office. Before we started, he firmly told me his intentions for agreeing to the interview.
“I’m very honored and grateful for this interview but I just want to be clear on how you want to angle it. If you want to angle it on the fact that there’s entrepreneurship, building a business outfit and how to do it then I’m more than welcome to give you the interview,” says Kairuz.
&nbsp;
Growing up in the south of Johannesburg, Kairuz has always had a passion for entrepreneurship, venturing into two businesses while in Glenvista High School. In standard 9 (grade 11), Kairuz coached karate and by the time he turned 18, he had 180 students at four different schools, generating a good income at the time.
“With some of the money I made from being a karate instructor, I bought equipment for my mobile disco company. I was a DJ at weddings, 21sts and different gigs while still being a karate instructor,” he says.
As good as he was in karate, he realized the risks of injury and how it could hamper him as a breadwinner.
So Kairuz went to varsity, after a year he dropped out to open Shawarma King, in the south of Johannesburg.
“I approached one of the student’s fathers who had a successful business for advice on possible ventures I could go into. He ended up giving me a loan of R30,000 ($1,800) and I used it to open up Shawarma King in 1998,” says Kairuz.
With hunger for success, Kairuz grew his Shawarma King business and by the time he was 20, he had five shops.
Three shops were in university canteens at Midrand University, Milpark Business School and Damelin Braamfontein, in Johannesburg.
“I called the shops Shawarma King but I had a fully-fledged menu. I had steak rolls, shawarmas, chips, burgers, you name it. I had a wont to be Steers,” chuckles Kairuz.
The downside of running the shops in varsity was that it wasn’t a year-round business because of holidays and exams and Kairuz wanted more.
A telephone conversation with a man who ran hospital coffee shops would allow him this opportunity. The man told Kairuz that he was getting out of the business because it wasn’t paying and Kairuz said he wanted in.
“I put the phone down, did my research on all the sites that his particular company was in and phoned the relevant hospitals, told them I have a coffee shop business that I’d like to see them about,” says Kairuz.
Kairuz didn’t own a coffee shop. One of the hospitals listened and gave him a chance. By the time he was 22, Kairuz got his first break.
“My first coffee shop looked like a franchise, felt like a franchise, had menus that gave variety and quality products like a franchise but we were not a franchise business,” says Kairuz.
In 2006, Kairuz formed a partnership with Royal Sechaba Holdings to merge all the Royal Sechaba coffee shops into Kairuz Café, under Kairuz Holdings. With this partnership, Kairuz grew from three coffee shops, to owning 49% equity in 10 hospital coffee shops, by 2008.
At this point, Kairuz wanted to franchise off the Kairuz Café but Royal Sechaba Holdings wasn’t keen, so, he bought their 51% equity and franchised out their stores.
“I retained two of the coffee shops and franchised the balance,” he says.
Kairuz was still interested in growing his business and looking for options to do so. He got a call informing him about a brand that was going into liquidation. When he called to inquire, he heard that the brand was going to be auctioned off in a closed auction within the hour.
He got into his car and quickly rushed to the auction venue where he ended up bidding against industry giants Famous Brands.
“After tying twice in the bidding, I said to them, ‘Do we need to carry on driving the price up? Can we not do a joint venture together like you’ve done with other Famous Brands businesses?’ and they declined,” says Kairuz.
In the third bid, Famous Brands ended up beating him by R1,000 (around $60) but they were impressed with how he took initiative to negotiate during the bidding process. This paved way for a new partnership as he got talking with the group CEO, whom he knew prior the bidding, and in May 2011, he formed a partnership with Famous Brands.
Kairuz Holdings and Famous Brands launched Creative Coffees and they set up coffee shops in three different hospital groups. For Life Healthcare they set up House of Coffees, for Mediclinic they set up Coffee Couture and for Netcare they created NetCafé.
“We had 28 coffee shops in various hospitals across South Africa under Creative Coffee all in captive business,” says Kairuz.
In March this year, Kairuz moved on, selling his 39% equity in Creative Coffee to Famous Brands.
When I suggested that he probably made a fortune in the buyout, he was very modest in his reply.
“Everyone always perceives the buyout to be bigger than what it is. It was a fair buyout, but it was good enough for me to reposition myself, start again and move on,” says Kairuz.
At present, Kairuz is weighing out his options for future endeavours and is creating a Juicy Lucy Smoothie from his Juicy Lucy brand.
“I’m currently doing a lot of consulting work for the likes of Famous Brands and looking at other business ventures for the future,” he says.
Kairuz is living proof that dedication and hard work pay off because, at the end of the day, that’s virtually all he had.

Tag: University