Political parties are calling on the government to provide leadership on what they say is a looming crisis in higher education.
In December, President Jacob Zuma announced during the ANC's national conference that government would be introducing free higher education for the poor and working class in 2018.
The announcement was met with shock, as National Treasury had already indicated that there was no money to fund such a proposal.
The Economic Freedom Fighters also threw the cat amongst the pigeons this week, when it called on all those who previously passed matric should go to institutions of their choice and register, prompting Universities South Africa to issue a statement saying that no "walk-in" registrations would be allowed.
In a statement on Wednesday, the IFP Youth Brigade called on President Jacob Zuma to take the nation into his confidence about the implementation of Free Education at institutions of higher learning.
"Zuma made a scant announcement in December 2016 devoid of details, and confusion now reigns supreme among prospective students, institutions of higher and government," said IFPYB chairperson and MP, Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
"This confusion is bound to cause damage, stampedes, and loss of life as students rightly flock to institutions of higher learning to claim their right: access to education, which for time immemorial has been the commodified persevere of the few," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Zuma cannot now vanish into a sabbatical of silence when the Nation needs answers, information, and details. The 2017 Matric results are due to be released tomorrow and surely learning and teaching cannot be successfully achieved in the absence of relevant details," he said.
Hlengwa said it was both reckless and irresponsible of Zuma "to throw the cat amongst the pigeons only for him to then run away."
DA MP, Belinda Bozzoli, meanwhile, called on the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Hlengiwe Mkhize, "to intervene in the registration processes at higher education institutions across the country as the process is currently at risk of devolving into chaos as a result of President Jacob Zuma's reckless announcement and the EFF's inflammatory calls."
She said that the DA had previously noted the potentially disastrous consequences of Zuma's announcement that government will introduce fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor and working-class undergraduate students.
"These warnings are now ringing true as the EFF has made an inflammatory call for academically eligible students to report to higher education institutions of their choice to demand to be registered for study in 2018," said Bozzoli.
She said that the DA noted the failure of Zuma and Mkhize to provide strong leadership in this matter and we accordingly call on her to decisively intervene in order to avoid a potentially violent crisis.
Bozzoli said that Minister Mkhize must now provide unequivocal stance on whether she supports Zuma's announcement of free education and what her department intends to do to mitigate against registration processes turning violent.
The Higher Education Transformation Network also weighed in on Wednesday, calling on public universities to extend their registration deadlines, while also condemning the EFF's call.
"The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) hereby notes the media statement by Universities South Africa (USAF) dated the 1st January 2018 with deep concern," said chairperson, Dr. Reginald Legoabe.
"Whilst we acknowledge that the state has contributed to the delay in the release of the final report of the Heher Fees Commission for consideration by all stakeholders in higher education, we believe that there has been requisite strategic policy guidance from the state as well as internal consultative meetings between affected universities managers, NSFAS and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)," he said.
"The Network does not support the chaotic storming of university gates advocated by some political role players. This will be tantamount to chaos," he added.
Dr. Legoabe said the Network is now calling on all 26 universities to extend their admission deadlines for the acceptance of more applications to cater for the students who are to benefit from the Fee Free higher education plan.
"Whilst we note university management concerns regarding chaotic registration processes, the emphasis on exclusively online applications alone will indirectly hamper the access by poor rural communities who cannot access technology," he said.
The Higher Education Minister will brief the public on Thursday on the 2018 registration process at institutions of higher learning.
