SOUTH Africa’s ruling ANC cautiously welcomed yesterday a report on university tuition fees that recommended they stay in place, but are paid back through a higher rate of tax.

The Heher commission, which wrote the report, was set up following anti-fees protests in 2015 and 2016. Those protests were tense and eventually saw violence — university buildings were set alight and one worker was killed.

The report rejected abolishing tuition fees. It supported students taking out loans from private banks, which would be guaranteed by the government.