Students have been assured that NSFAS allowance issues will be resolved by the minister of higher education. Since the start of the 2023 academic year, students at a KwaZulu-Natal college have not received any allowances.
Students Still Haven’t Received NSFAS Allowances
Students at the uMfolozi TVET College in Eshowe have yet to receive their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances despite the start of the academic year more than two months ago.
These challenges are being raised by the students in a letter to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande.
NSFAS offers comprehensive bursaries to students from poor and working-class backgrounds who wish to pursue undergraduate degrees. In addition to accommodation costs, stationery costs, and upkeep costs, NSFAS students receive allowances to cover these costs.
In KwaZulu-Natal, students raised concerns after a full term passed without any funding from NSFAS. Zulungisele Zulu, president of the SRC, says students are leaving the campus because they do not know where they will live.
Nzimande explained that several challenges have delayed NSFAS’ payment of student allowances. Late matric results and late applications are examples of these challenges.
In order to assist students, NSFAS representatives have been deployed to institutions of higher learning around the country. If the representatives are unable to resolve the issues, the minister will personally contact senior NSFAS officials.
- We’ve got NSFAS representatives in every institution who are actually dealing with those kinds of problems
Nzimande announced that the government will spend R3 billion over the next three years to address student accommodation issues. This will include signing off-take agreements with accommodation providers.