NATIONAL NEWS - Government has approved nearly R7 billion of additional funding for higher education to meet the commitments President Jacob Zuma made to students at the end of last year.

Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe made the announcement in Pretoria today following a special Cabinet briefing.

The meeting was called to discuss the state of the economy and the budget-related issues.

Minister Radebe says as an immediate measure, government has allocated R2.3 billion towards the university operational budget shortfall caused by the agreed zero-percent fee increment for this year.

“Government has also prioritised R2,5 billion of state funding to be allocated to [National Student Financial Aid Scheme] NSFAS to provide loans to assist 71,753 students.”

He says a further R2 billion will be allocated to the NSFAS to support unfunded and under-funded students.