Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Council Chairperson, Advocate Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, asserts that chronic underfunding resulting from an unequal national funding formula is the primary cause of WSU’s ongoing financial crisis.
Unequal Funding and Structural Disadvantage
In a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education on Wednesday, Ngcukaitobi sharply criticized the existing financial mechanism, arguing that it places historically black universities at a permanent disadvantage compared to historically white institutions.
- Core Argument: Ngcukaitobi stated that the current funding model in South Africa continues to “discriminate against black institutions.”
- The Warning: He warned that without fundamental structural reform of this funding model, institutions like WSU will inevitably face continuous struggles and collapse.
“That concern about financial sustainability is a historical concern. It comes as a result, primarily of, the funding formula. The funding formula in this country continues to discriminate against black institutions. That is why we have asked in all our encounters, the continuing discrimination against black institutions, through the funding model,” Ngcukaitobi explained.
WSU’s briefing covered the institution’s state of governance, administration, and its teaching and learning capacity, with financial sustainability identified as the central, historically rooted problem.Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Council Chairperson, Advocate Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, asserts that chronic underfunding resulting from an unequal national funding formula is the primary cause of WSU’s ongoing financial crisis.
