The consequences of the COVID-19 crisis for higher education student and institutional inequalities in South Africa

• We ask: • What happened to student retention in 2020? • Does aggregate improvement mask differences by prior performance and socio-economic status? • Does performance in 2021 shed further light on what happened in 2020? Presentation outline 1. [...] • Historically disadvantaged (HD) institutions were designated to serve Black students, HA to serve White students • Mergers to reconfigure a fragmented and unequal system South African Higher Ed (HE) • Public HE institutions shaped by: • structure of funding framework - the enrolment plan; enrolment, graduation, and research incentives, • NSFAS policies and the share of students paying tuition fe. [...] • Institutions thus differ in the composition of their staff and student bodies, their geographical location, and the infrastructure and the resources available in them. [...] • Many institutions: • Provided laptops and data • Reduced course content and submission requirements • Extended the academic year to March 2021 • With 69% of students funded via NSFAS, the funding adjustments made by NSFAS in response to the pandemic largest centralised response in the sector. [...] • Students entering prior to 2018, eligible based on the previous R122 000 threshold Composition of NSFAS funding • NSFAS pays institution program specific tuition directly to institutions • Accommodation and living allowances based on whether student is in: 1.