The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a very important mechanism driving access to tertiary education in South Africa. However, the scheme has seen many challenges.
The NSFAS bursary covers more than just a student's tuition fees. Students also receive NSFAS allowances which are used for accommodation, transport and learning materials.
One of those challenges is a delay in NSFAS allowances being disbursed to students. This is a major issue as many students depend on these NSFAS allowances for their survival, with many being far from home.
Delayed NSFAS Allowances
When asked about this issue by a member of Parliament, the Department said:
NSFAS delegated two teams led by senior officials to visit a sample of 10 universities and 20 TVET Colleges over a ten-day period from 11 September to 22 September with the objective of engaging students and institutions on the challenges they are confronting.
They continued to say, "NSFAS also established continuous engagements with student leaders in areas where issues persist".
One of the reasons behind this delay is the new direct payment system implemented by NSFAS which many students have complained about. From delays to exorbitant bank charges, students are being placed in difficult situations due to the absence of their allowances.
High Bank Charges With NSFAS Direct Payment System
When questioned about exorbitant bank charges, the department explained:
Service providers charge students a fixed monthly fee of R12 for a specific bundle of transactions. Further, additional charges arise because of student transactional behaviour for transactions outside of the bundled transactions for example repeated viewing of balance of funds in the student account or excessive transactions.
Spokesperson for the South African Union of Students (SAUS), Asive Dlanjwa, has said the union agreed that students will not be charged more than a R12 admin fee, but students are now allegedly being charged up to R174.
Defunding of NSFAS Students
Another issue is that of defunding students. This year saw NSFAS withdraw the funding of more than 28 000 students since 1 January 2023.
The Department has said the students were defunded due to:
- Student not qualifying for NSFAS after a re-assessment of Financial Eligibility criteria using new SARS data
- Student was rejected after updated Academic Eligibility assessment results
- The student exceeding the N+ rule
Universities South Africa (USAf) has said that "the defunding of students in the middle of the academic year has caused challenges for the students and the universities." The organisation continued to say that this is a source of frustration among students and staff alike, and is also contributing to the instability at universities.
