Chairperson and hon members, this is a question that, correctly speaking, the Minister of Higher Education and Training would be better placed to deal with. However, I'm informed that university fees are determined through each university's admission policy and therefore differ from institution to institution.
The Minister of Higher Education and Training has established the ministerial committee for the review of funding to universities, which is also tasked with looking into the matter of the student fee increases and the desirability of capping such increases. Once the committee has completed its work, it will make recommendations to the Minister on whether a national policy to regulate university fees should be put in place. Over the years tertiary fees have been increasing as universities try to balance their budgets.
To alleviate the plight of poor students, however, government provides funding to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to enable poor and academically deserving students to attend universities. These university loans and bursary allocations increased by 27% in the 2012-13 financial year. The total number of poor but academically deserving students assisted was about 150 000. It is expected that this will increase by 5% annually. The Department of Higher Education and Training is also investigating the feasibility of a central application service. One of the anticipated benefits of such a service will be the standardisation of one application fee for all universities. This will assist poor students in extending their opportunities and choice.