Universities will run into financial crisis if debt continues to spiral: USAf CEO

JOHANNESBURG - Universities South Africa (USAf ) CEO Phethiwe Matutu has cautioned that if the debt in universities continued to spiral, they would run into a financial crisis in five years.

Matutu said the total debt of all public institutions was sitting at more than R21 billion about two years ago.

She said that low economic growth and student debt were among other issues that had put tertiary institutions in a difficult financial spot.

"Right now, what we are foreseeing is that with time, if this persists, it will lead to this crisis. Right now, universities are still sustainable. Perhaps in the next five years, towards the end of the next five years, one could look into their sustainability."