As it happened: Blade Nzimande says no decision yet on 2017 fees

He says he will meet with SRCs and student political formations.

"There is no need to shut down any universities. We are engaging with everyone extensively. We are all impatient to conclude this. That is why we have set the timeline to of end of August."

"We have money set aside for scarce skills - a billion rand. We are on the same side as students."

The minsiter says there is the challenge  corruption and wastage in government: "The more we deal with corruption, the better position we are in to deal with fees."

"I would like to urge all student formations to make submissions to the commission,” Nzimande says.

“We think it's not correct to make  demands."

"We have to take into account the feeling of students but at the same time we must also look at the viability of institutions,” Nzimande says.

“I am concerned about universities starting retrenching (of staff).”

He says this matter is not just a university issue and colleges should also be taken into account, which is why this is taking time.

"We also want to broaden this matter to engage business and faith communities."

"Government continues to be committed to addressing the needs of the poor. We cannot allow poor families to continue with the burden of fees. Let these processes be given a chance and be calm."

He says there has been very productive engagement so far.

“I'm quite eager for this matter to be settled as soon as possible,” he says.

He hopes it would still be concluded in August.

 There are no rules as to how universities raise fees, Blade Nzimande told reporters.

He says he asked the council for higher education to look into this matter but to do it in two phases. Phase one is to look into a 0% fee increase in 2017 and phase two is to work towards a framework on how fees should be regulated, Lizeka Tandwa reports.