South Africa's universities face major funding crisis

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Financial Distress ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
The Past ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
Vice Chancellor ◽  
Service Staff ◽  
Public Hearings ◽  
The University

Subject Outlook for higher education in South Africa. Significance Protests have erupted across university campuses in recent weeks, disrupting public hearings on the feasibility of free undergraduate education. At one, the University of Cape Town's vice-chancellor was briefly taken hostage. The unrest foreshadows difficult policy decisions amid calls for a 0% fee increase in 2017, which universities warn will result in poorer standards and "financial distress". Impacts If the Treasury fails to resolve the fees crisis, Zuma may use the issue to argue in favour of removing the finance minister. Inadequate funding may see South African universities fall further in international rankings; most slid in the past year. 'Insourcing' of service staff, such as cleaners -- another demand of student demonstrators -- will add to universities' cost woes. Universities will continue to face pressure to remove symbols perceived as valorising colonial- and apartheid-era figures.

Book review: Jansen, J. 2017. As by Fire: The End of the South African University. Cape Town: Tafelberg.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Jared McDonald
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
The South ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
Vice Chancellor ◽  
The University

Dr Jared McDonald, of the Department of History at the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa, reviews As by fire: the end of the South African university, written by former UFS vice-chancellor Jonathan Jansen.    How to cite this book review: MCDONALD, Jared. Book review: Jansen, J. 2017. As by Fire: The End of the South African University. Cape Town: Tafelberg.. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South, [S.l.], v. 1, n. 1, p. 117-119, Sep. 2017. Available at: <http://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=18>. Date accessed: 12 Sep. 2017.   This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The South African public service wage bill deadlock in 2021: living on the edge

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Marianne Matthee ◽  
Albert Wöcke
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
The Government

Subject area Macro-Economics. Study level/applicability Undergraduate and MBA. Case overview The COVID 19 pandemic-related restrictions devastated South Africa’s economy in 2020 and although the restrictions were generally less damaging than in 2020, the government had to budget for vaccinations and rebuild the economy. Public service unions had just announced that they were demanding an increase of 4% above inflation for their members and that they were preparing for a strike. They were bitter about the fact that the South African Government had withdrawn from the last year of a three-year wage agreement in February 2020 and their members had not received an increase for the two years. These demands and Finance Minister Mboweni’s response to them had to consider the structural and cyclical impact on the fiscus and economy. Expected learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the general objectives of fiscal policy and stakeholders’ interests; understand the tradeoffs in fiscal policy and the implications of taking a position; and make recommendations based on reasoned judgements about those recommendations. Complexity academic level Undergraduate and MBA level courses on Macro Economics. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public Sector Management.

Post-occupancy evaluation of outdoor spaces on the campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Clara Carvalho Tourinho ◽  
Sabrina Andrade Barbosa ◽  
Özgür Göçer ◽  
Klaus Chaves Alberto
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Post Occupancy Evaluation ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeUsing the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.FindingsThree group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.Practical implicationsThis research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.Originality/valueMost of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.

How can ecological fairs increase sustainability in a university campus?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-529
Author(s):  
Luciana Londero Brandli ◽  
Amanda Lange Salvia ◽  
Leila Dal Moro ◽  
Vanessa Tibola da Rocha ◽  
Janaina Mazutti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
The Social ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The University ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the contribution of ecological fairs to the promotion of sustainability in university campuses, based on a case study carried out at the University of Passo Fundo, located in Southern Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Producers and consumers of the ecological fairs were interviewed to analyse how the social, economic and environmental spheres of sustainable development are impacted by these fairs. In total, 24 interviews were conducted. Findings The results showed how fairs positively impact the academic and local community while bringing sustainability into university campuses. Research limitations/implications The main limitations of this study were the number of interviews and the short period during when the study was conducted. Practical implications This case study demonstrated how the promotion of ecological fairs on a university campus plays an important role in the implementation and practice of sustainability and can serve as an example for other institutions that intend to work on similar projects. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by providing a discussion on how ecological fairs represent a good addition in the process of universities to become more sustainable and which aspects of each sustainability sphere are involved.

Robustness of the Carhart four-factor and the Fama-French three-factor models on the South African stock market

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Addai Boamah
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
South African ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The South ◽  
Gross Domestic Product Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Three Factor ◽  
Future Growth ◽  
French Model

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the applicability of the Fama–French and Carhart models on the South African stock market (SASM). It examines the ability of the models to capture size, book-to-market (BM) and momentum effects on the SASM. The paper, additionally, explores the ability of the Fama–French–Carhart factors to predict the future growth of the South African economy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies on data of 848 firms from January 1996 to April 2012 to examine the size, BM and momentum effects on the SASM. The paper constructs the test assets from a 3 × 3 sort on size and BM and a 3 × 3 sort on size and momentum. The paper estimates momentum as the past six-months’ cumulative return. The momentum portfolios are monthly rebalanced. Additionally, the size and BM portfolios are formed annually at the end of each June. Findings – Evidence is provided that size, BM and momentum effects exist on the SASM; also, the small- and high-BM firm portfolios, respectively, appear riskier than the big- and low-BM firm portfolios. The paper provides evidence of past winners outperforming past losers aside from the small-firm group. Additionally, the models only partially capture the size and value effects on the SASM. The Carhart model partly captures the momentum effects, but the Fama–French model is unable to describe the returns to the momentum-sorted portfolios. The evidence shows that the models’ factors predict future gross domestic product growth. Originality/value – The models do not fully describe returns on the SASM; any application of the models on the SASM should be done with caution. The Carhart model better describes returns than the Fama–French model on the SASM. The Fama–French–Carhart factors may relate to the underlying economic risk of the South African economy.

scholarly journals The university press: trends, initiatives and collaborations over the past several years

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton Hayes ◽  
Robert P. Holley
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
The University ◽  
Scholarly Communication System

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine recent trends that have affected university presses (UPs). The increased reliance on digital resources and fiscal constraints within higher education has forced UPs to re-evaluate their position with the scholarly communication system. Responses include an increased focus on partnerships, new forms of publication, changing business models and better meeting customers’ needs. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have reviewed publications on UPs from the past five years and added their viewpoints on current and future trends. Findings – UPs must adapt to resource scarcity and current trends in scholarly communication to remain viable. Practical implications – Both UPs and academic libraries may gain insights on how to meet the needs of researchers and scholars within a changing environment. Originality/value – This paper summarizes and evaluates a broad spectrum of research on UPs.

South African SOE reforms unlikely under Zuma

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Macroeconomic Risk ◽  
Insurance Reform ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
Health Insurance Reform ◽  
Railway Infrastructure ◽  
Patronage Politics

Subject Outlook for South Africa's state-owned enterprises. Significance On December 23, at Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's instruction, South African Airways (SAA) concluded a deal with Airbus to lease five A330-300 aircraft. The deal overturns Chairperson Dudu Myeni's initial plan, which involved leasing the aircraft through local middlemen at far higher costs. However, this is a rare example of probity overcoming patronage politics, which has become the norm in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Impacts Delays to railway infrastructure upgrades mean that new trains acquired by PRASA will be unusable in the medium term. Shortages of technical skills such as engineering, due to inadequacies in the higher education system, will add to SOE woes. The government's superficial funding proposal for its high-cost health insurance reform will worsen macroeconomic risk perceptions.

To stream or not to stream?

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 485-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara E. Morris ◽  
Lea H. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Development Policy ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Collection Development ◽  
University Of Kansas ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Feature Films ◽  
Library Users ◽  
Streaming Services ◽  
The University

Purpose The University of Kansas (KU) libraries has faced increased requests for streaming video in the past five years. While we have provided access to many databases of films, feature films remained a problem. To write a collection development policy, the library undertook three investigations to ensure the outcome reflected the needs of the university. Design/methodology/approach Film titles included in Swank 300 and Criterion-on-Demand were checked against the CanIStream. it? website to check for availability through streaming, rental or purchase services. Student library users were surveyed to determine if they had streaming subscriptions and, if so, which ones. KU librarians also examined academic library collection development polices to understand how others have addressed this issue. Findings More than half of the feature films provided by the two vendors are available through subscriptions, renting or purchasing methods. A majority of students subscribe to one or more of these services. Many academic libraries are deciding not to provide streaming feature films. Originality/value There are no previous studies on students’ subscriptions to streaming services linked to availability of feature films offered from commercial vendors to libraries.

Economic crisis will sustain unrest in Zimbabwe

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Unemployment ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
Fund Development ◽  
The Government ◽  
Sovereign Credit Rating

Significance Discontent over President Robert Mugabe's mismanagement of the economy is deepening, particularly over high unemployment and severe cash shortages, which have caused the government to delay paying civil servants' salaries. Impacts Pretoria's demands that Harare drop its restrictions on South African imports will likely increase bilateral tensions. Smugglers will take advantage of the region's porous borders to circumvent these rules, eg by routing goods via Mozambique. The mines and minerals amendment bill, which requires mining firms to list on the local bourse, will likely deter investment. Tensions between Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa and leftist ministers could result in further policy reversals. Plans to gain a sovereign credit rating and issue Eurobonds to fund development will remain unrealised, at least for several years.

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