Concerned Rhodes University staff have published an open letter to senior management calling for more budget transparency and transformation.
The Alternative Transformation Forum, a collective of academic and administrative staff, also called for input for an “alternative budget”.
The letter circulated around the campus on Friday, cited the ongoing national higher education crisis as a catalyst to rethink and shift budget sustainability and transformation.
“The economic relationship between Rhodes University and Grahamstown compels us to apply our collective minds and agency to finding sustainable solutions that could offer a feasible strategy and example to others.
“A viable Rhodes University means a viable Makana and our small, public university must no longer be perceived as a beacon of privilege on the hill, but an integral part of the Eastern Cape economy.”
Described as a “loose association” of staff interested in transformation, a collective statement yesterday said the ATF provided a platform to discuss higher education problems.
“Our open letter on the budget process at Rhodes is part of our ongoing engagement with the urgent questions of funding facing higher education, due to declining state subsidy and rising fees.”
The statement said the forum had been working on a macro-economic analysis funding draft months before the #FeesMustFall campaign.
“We were already thinking about how to deal with the pressing questions of ensuring equitable access to tertiary education, transformation and financial sustainability of our universities in the current conservative fiscal framework.”
University spokeswoman Catherine Deiner yesterday said staff and students were welcome to provide input at any stage of the budget process prior to the final version being submitted.
The ATF said their input was the result of ongoing collaboration between National Tertiary Education Union, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), staff and “progressive student bodies” such as the Black Student Movement.
The letter said the main cause of the crisis was shrinking state funding, which resulted in past practices of raising student fees to balance the books.
Another problem was the low 3.4% projected increase in government grants for next year, which resulted in “education inflation” estimated at 9.4%.
“This means that, in real terms, Rhodes faces a 6% cut in funding from the state, and, given student growth of 3.5%, an effective cut of almost 10% in 2016 alone,” the letter said.
The biggest loser was maintenance, and backlogs now run into millions.
Staff call for change at Rhodes
The Alternative Transformation Forum, a collective of academic and administrative staff, also called for input for an “alternative budget”.
The letter circulated around the campus on Friday, cited the ongoing national higher education crisis as a catalyst to rethink and shift budget sustainability and transformation.
“The economic relationship between Rhodes University and Grahamstown compels us to apply our collective minds and agency to finding sustainable solutions that could offer a feasible strategy and example to others.
“A viable Rhodes University means a viable Makana and our small, public university must no longer be perceived as a beacon of privilege on the hill, but an integral part of the Eastern Cape economy.”
Described as a “loose association” of staff interested in transformation, a collective statement yesterday said the ATF provided a platform to discuss higher education problems.
“Our open letter on the budget process at Rhodes is part of our ongoing engagement with the urgent questions of funding facing higher education, due to declining state subsidy and rising fees.”
The statement said the forum had been working on a macro-economic analysis funding draft months before the #FeesMustFall campaign.
“We were already thinking about how to deal with the pressing questions of ensuring equitable access to tertiary education, transformation and financial sustainability of our universities in the current conservative fiscal framework.”
University spokeswoman Catherine Deiner yesterday said staff and students were welcome to provide input at any stage of the budget process prior to the final version being submitted.
The ATF said their input was the result of ongoing collaboration between National Tertiary Education Union, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), staff and “progressive student bodies” such as the Black Student Movement.
The letter said the main cause of the crisis was shrinking state funding, which resulted in past practices of raising student fees to balance the books.
Another problem was the low 3.4% projected increase in government grants for next year, which resulted in “education inflation” estimated at 9.4%.
“This means that, in real terms, Rhodes faces a 6% cut in funding from the state, and, given student growth of 3.5%, an effective cut of almost 10% in 2016 alone,” the letter said.
The biggest loser was maintenance, and backlogs now run into millions.
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