This article explores the extent to which funding is used to steer the public higher education sector towards meeting the social, political and economic imperatives of post-1994 South Africa. It argues that the design of the funding framework influenced the direction of higher education after 1994, and that funding mechanisms explicitly or implicitly further both the public and the private good dimensions of higher education. It suggests that the previous funding mechanisms in South African higher education were linked to the policy of separate development, which resulted in inequalities along racial lines. The article concludes that the current funding framework does in some respects contribute to the realisation of the government's aim to redress past imbalances and inequities in the higher education sector. It further concludes that the government needs to create a framework that would give markets the opportunity to form partnerships with the government to impart skills.