THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

interview with Dr Ezekiel Moraka

Heita! met up with Dr Ezekiel Moraka, Acting Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) and DVC: Student Affairs and Extracurricular Development (SAED), to ask him some frank questions, ranging from student finances to student fun.

          EXACTLY HOW DOES TUT

          USE THE MONEY THAT I

PAY FOR MY STUDIES TO KEEP THE INSTITUTION GOING?

TUT has three streams of income: The first stream is government subsidy, the second is tuition fees and the third is other income, which is mobilised by the University from various sources. The first and second income streams, which make up about 90% of TUT’s income, are mainly used to pay expenses such as salaries, goods and services, finance costs and capital expenditure. The goods and services expenditure consists of items such as Campus Protection Services; Information and Communication Technology; water and electricity; cleaning services; bus transport; and operational items to cover the daily costs to run the University.

          WHAT ARE THE

          IMPLICATIONS IF

          I DON’T PAY?

If the students do not pay their tuition fees, TUT will have insufficient income to pay its expenses. This may affect the operations of the University as there may be insufficient money to efficiently run the institution. Furthermore, non-payment of tuition fees will not assist the process of preserving TUT as a national asset for younger generations.

          IS THERE REALLY A NEED

          TO INCREASE FEES

          ANNUALLY?

Every year, expenditure increases as a result of inflation. The inflation that affects higher education is normally higher than the CPIX (Consumer price index) of the country. If income does not increase annually and expenditure continues to increase above the CPIX, the income of the University will eventually reach a point where it cannot cover all its expenditures.

          EVERY YEAR, I READ IN

          THE MEDIA THAT NSFAS

(National Student Financial Aid Scheme) IS AN ISSUE AT THE UNIVERSITY. WHO QUALIFIES FOR NSFAS AND HOW DOES
IT WORK?

Financially needy and academically deserving students qualify for financial aid. NSFAS is, however, unable to assist all eligible students because of limited funds. NSFAS covers tuition fees, TUT residence fees and fixed amounts for books and meals. No private accommodation, pocket money or transport is covered. If you qualify according to the means test, NSFAS will only support you for a maximum of five years, based on the availability of funding in each year. If you change your course frequently and you take longer than five years to complete your diploma, you will have to pay for yourself until you graduate.

          DOES TUT HAVE ENOUGH

          ACCOMMODATION FOR

          STUDENTS?

TUT is the largest residential University of Technology in Southern Africa. We currently provide accommodation to a total of 10 574 students. With regards to the developments in accommodation provision, the following has been done recently, or is in progress:

In the beginning of 2015, TUT has entered into three new lease agreements for accommodation, namely:

• Ekhaya Junction (for Ga-Rankuwa students)
• Muzinda (Pretoria)
• Urban Cove (Mbombela)

Two new residences, which are still under construction, can each  accommodate approximately 200 students:

• One is in Ga-Rankuwa and work is in progress
• The other is in Soshanguve.

However, there is a need for additional accommodation at all TUT campuses.