'Treasury curbs learning', says Sasco

THE SA Students Congress (Sasco) says the national Treasury is the biggest stumbling block to the education prospects of previously disadvantaged youth.

The financial allocation of resources to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme was insufficient as it did not match the number of poor students who were solely dependent on the government to study, Sasco said.

Every year, thousands of disgruntled students participate in protests to demonstrate their opposition to inadequate funding.

The University of Fort Hare campus in Alice was the latest to be hit.

Sasco secretary-general Luzuko Buku said Treasury was the biggest problem, even more than the Department of Higher Education and Training, as it failed to see and appreciate the overwhelming demand for access to education.

"What is worse is that there is no plan on how this issue is to be addressed," he said. – Siviwe Feketha