Student union calls for scraping of university application fees

The South African Union of Students (SAUS) has called on universities to do away with application fees.

The union, which represents student representative councils across the country, said the current systems create a significant barrier for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The average application fee ranges from R300 to R600 per university, which can quickly add up, especially for students applying to multiple institutions.

SAUS spokesperson Dr Thato Masekoa said that, at the very least, automatic waivers should be implemented for financially vulnerable students.

“If you don’t have R5,000, you become selective in your approach because that is a lot of money for a person who comes from a basic rural area.”

Masekoa argued that the cost of processing applications should not fall on students, but rather on the universities themselves.

He added that the Department of Education is responsible for paying salaries to administrative staff; therefore, the application fees should be used to support these employees, rather than being a source of revenue for the universities

“We want to make sure that everyone has equal opportunity and equal fairness. Students who are heavily disadvantaged but academically competent are the ones who have to abandon their dreams on the basis that they do not have money.”

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