Student fees, the petite bourgeoisie and the Treasury

By Nico Cloete. During the announcement by Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande, about the government’s response to the student fees standoff, he frequently made reference to the ‘poor and the working class’ as one group, the ‘missing middle’ as another, and those who earn more than R600,000 (US$43,300) annually as a third group – bringing class into the higher education debate. Read more...