Table 2. Study characteristics.

Author (Year)	Study design	Research question/Research objective	Country
Badat (2011)	Grey Literature	Is free higher education necessarily an undesirable ideal?	South Africa
Cloete (2015)	Grey literature	Is free higher education a good idea, and where will the money come from?	South Africa
de Gayardon (2019)	Qualitative study	To explore the philosophical rationales behind the idea of free tuition in countries implementing free education.	Outside South Africa
de Jager and Baard (2019)	Qualitative design	Does “free” higher education in South Africa make economic sense?	South Africa
DHET (2018)	Grey Literature	To Identify investment trends in post-school education and training in South Africa.	South Africa
Dunga and Mncayi (2016)	Quantitative design	Should higher education be free or not in South Africa?	South Africa
Hlaka and Sefoka (2022)	Qualitative design	Can free education be realised in South Africa?	South Africa
Langa et al. (2017)	Grey literature	Is free higher education an illusion?	South Africa
Mlambo et al. (2017)	Qualitative design	The study explores whether the provision of free higher education in South Africa is a proper concept or a parable.	South Africa
Motala et al. (2018)	Qualitative design	What might be included in any discussion about the costs of education.	South Africa
Public Servants Association (2016)	Grey literature	To analyse the challenges facing higher education in South Africa.	South Africa
Sefoka (2018)	Qualitative design	To evaluate the possibility of the South African economy having to fund or cater for free and sustainable higher education.	South Africa
Universities South Africa (2017)	Grey literature	Universities Funding in South Africa; A Fact Sheet.	South Africa
Wangenge-Ouma and Cloete (2008)	Qualitative design	How are universities funded in South Africa?	South Africa
Yende and Mthombeni (2023)	Qualitative design	To discuss unforeseen financial constraints in South African higher education due to fee-free education.	South Africa