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The future of universities – Prof Burger part of DHET Expert Panel on University Fees

17 June 2025 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Supplied

Prof Philippe Burger, Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been appointed as a member of a team that will represent Universities South Africa (USAf) in a DHET Expert Panel on University Fees. The panel, which comprises representatives from USAf, the DHET, and NSFAS, focuses on the affordability of tuition fees and the future sustainability of the sector, looking at potential solutions for tuition fees beyond the 2025 academic year.

With more than 30 years of experience in higher education, mostly in management positions, Prof Burger understands the sector well. Combined with his expertise in macroeconomics, fiscal policy, and public sector economics and finance, he is uniquely positioned to make a significant contribution to this task team.

Universities matter

Despite the high national unemployment rate (32%), Prof Burger points out that unemployment is largely a problem of the unskilled. “The unemployment rate of people with university degrees is about 12%, much lower than the national average,” he notes. “South Africa has a large shortage of skilled labour, which it needs to grow the economy and improve lives.” He trusts that universities can fill this void, in addition to providing the thought leaders needed to take the country forward.

Although universities in South Africa are experiencing financial pressures, they continue to lift thousands of people to better lives each year. Universities make a profoundly positive contribution to the country and its population, and Prof Burger believes that once the public is fully aware of this, it will support broader discussions in favour of higher education.

The challenge

Universities face several cost pressures that are causing an increase in cost at a higher rate than consumer inflation, Prof Burger explains. “For instance, we buy equipment, software, and journal subscriptions that are all priced in US dollars. Affected by the exchange rate, these types of expenses have increased by much more than the price of consumer goods in South Africa over the past ten years.” According to Prof Burger, increased operational costs, coupled with constrained university income, necessitate a model that will provide universities with enough income to cover their costs while delivering quality education in the long run.

The solution

“There is an argument for universities to become more efficient, and there is certainly room for universities to look at their cost structures, but there is also a limit to what we can do,” Prof Burger says. “It is important to stress that we cannot talk about the sustainability of universities and not contextualise it within a framework that seeks to deliver quality learning, teaching, and research. In the absence of that quality, we will not be able to address the skills shortages and thought leadership that the country needs. And that is the sustainability we need to talk about – the sustainability of quality education and scholarship,” he concludes.

News Archive

Prof Hendrik Swart richly contributes to research of phosphors

2014-12-02

Prof Hendrik Swart
Photo: Merwelene van der Merwe

Since his appointment as the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair, there has been a sharp increase in the number of papers and publications by Prof Hendrik Swart, Senior Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS). From January this year, he has already published 78 articles. Some of the journals that has published his work, includes:

• Nanotechnology (impact of 3.67)
• Dalton Transactions (impact of 4.097)
• Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical (impact 3.84)

“My biggest success, however, is the powerful group of researchers we have built over the years. Staff, postdocs and students – without them it would have been impossible. I am therefore much indebted to my groups on both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses.

“The good apparatus we acquired via a sponsorship from the National Research Foundation and Sasol is also one of the main reasons for this. The financial support I get from the university’s research office is of course also a contributing factor,” he says.

For the past 20 years, Prof Swart has been conducting research on any substance that glows. “I only adjust the focus to fit in with current trends,” he says.

Prof Swart believes that his research will make a contribution to the fundamental knowledge about phosphors, as well as to the training of good students for the academic and industrial world on the outside. For the man on the street, his research translates into better, brighter lights that use less energy.

His more recent research focuses on the development of nano-phosphors for light-emitting diodes (LEDS) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLED).

Prof Swart has presented papers on his research not only nationally, but all over the world – including countries in Europe and the East. Some of the most recent papers presented by him and his colleagues/postgraduate students include:

• Applications of AES, XPS and TOF SIMS to phosphor materials at die 15th European Conference on Applications of Surface and Interface Analysis 2013 in Forte Village Resort, Sardinia, Italy.
• Luminescent properties of phosphor nano thin films at the first International Symposium on Nanoparticles/Nanomaterials and Applications in Caparica (Lisbon, Portugal), where he was an invited speaker.
• Role of surface and deep-level defects on the emission of nano metal oxides at the 2014 NanoAfrica international conference, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa, where he delivered the keynote address.
• PHI systems and their modifications at KOVSIES at the PHI European User Meeting in Ismaning (Munich), Germany, where he was invited to speak.

Prof Swart also delivered the keynote address at the SETCOR International Conference on Smart Materials and Surfaces in Bangkok, Thailand. His lecture was titled, ‘Role of surface and deep-level defects on the emission and degradation of phosphor materials’.

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