The government has its sights on free education, says Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande.
He was speaking at a forum at in the east of Johannesburg on Monday to discuss student demands for free tertiary education.
He urged students to allow a commission appointed by President Jacob Zuma to finish its inquiry into the feasibility of free education.
“We have a process in place which will draw the road map to get there. Let us give that process the space that it needs,” said Nzimande.
The forum was attended by Zuma, students and university heads.
Nzimande pledged solidarity with those affected by the high tuition fees.
“We have heard you all loud and clear,” he said.
“We have heard the student leadership telling us about the pressures it is facing. We have heard the pleas from across our society that the coming weeks and months should remain peaceful and focused.”
Nzimande pleaded for classes to be allowed to resume.
“We all know that an inability to complete this academic year means poverty for many who don’t get their degrees and the possibility that many others will not be able return to university next year,” he said.
Zuma strongly criticised the destruction of property by protestimng students, labelling such action as “criminal”.
The student protests erupted after an announcement by Nzimande that universities could determine their own 2017 fee increases up to eight percent.
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