President Jacob Zuma on Thursday said an announcement on the findings of the Heher commission, which investigated the possibility of providing free higher education in South Africa, was imminent.

In his annual address to the National Council of Provinces, one of the two houses of the South African Parliament, Zuma said: “Funding for further education, the interministerial committee responsible for higher education funding, chaired by the minister in the presidency, working with the presidential fiscal committee, are assisting me in processing the report of the Heher commission.”

“I will be making an announcement soon on the report.”

Last month, students marched to Parliament to demand Zuma release the report after it was leaked, with reports in Sunday newspapers that the commission found free higher education was not feasible because the country could not afford it.

The media earlier this week reported that Zuma was pushing for a plan by his future son-in-law Morris Masutha on free higher education to be adopted.

The plan could reportedly lead to the budgets of departments across the State to be significantly trimmed to make R40-billion available for free higher education in 2018.