The focus of this presentation is based on a submission to the ‘Fees Commission’ supporting free
higher education in South Africa. The presentation will show that issues around the funding of higher
education and attendant costs are central to the debates not only about the ‘transformation’ of
universities but its relationship to social justice and change, inequality and society more generally.
The presentation will argue that the public good represented by public education is not simply
about a ‘pro-poor’ approach, limited by the tenets of constitutionalism or the quantum of financial
resources perceived to be available, it is also about issues of social class, racism, gender discrimination and oppressive social relations and power.

Salim Vally is the director of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation, an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg and a visiting professor at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. He co-edited the awardwinning book Education, Economy and Society (Unisa Press, 2014) with CERT research associate Enver Motala and is currently co-editing the book

History’s School: Past Struggles and Present Realities with CERT visiting professor Aziz Choudry as well as Neville Alexander: The Struggle for Liberation and Education in South Africa (UKZN Press).