11 OCTOBER 2023
Amptelike studentekoerant van die Universiteit Stellenbosch I Official student newspaper of Stellenbosch University I Iphephandaba elisemthethweni labafundi beYunivesithi yaseStellenbosch I Gestig in 1941 I Established in 1941 I Lisekwe ngowe-1941
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NSFAS funded students urged to seek additional funding N FLAVIA DAVIDS
ational Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary holders of Stellenbosch University (SU) were invited to a meeting with managerial staff on Tuesday 26 September to discuss the 2024 registration process, student debt, financial shortfalls and alternative funding opportunities. The meeting took on a hybrid form and was hosted in the VV Hall in the Neelsie Student Centre and on Microsoft Teams. Members of the university’s executive , including Prof Stan Du Plessis, chief operating officer of SU, were in attendance and spoke to the students about the difficulties associated with the NSFAS bursary scheme. “The reason we are here is to indicate to you that we take this matter very seriously. The university leadership has also constituted a special task group to deal with NSFAS-related difficulties and to find solutions to these
difficulties,” explained Du Plessis. These difficulties include widespread difficulty in onboarding the funding scheme’s direct payment system and its R45 000 housing allowance cap. The introduction of the funding scheme’s accommodation cap in early 2023 left many students without accommodation. Students who struggled to onboard the Coinvest direct payment system have been unable to access their allowances. SU education student William Sezoe, who served as vice chairperson of the Student Representative Council (SRC) for the 2022/2023 term, laid complaints against the funding scheme with the Office of the Public Protector and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) respectively. Sezoe called for the investigation of the procurement systems followed when awarding tenders to its current direct payment system partners and also detailed the difficulties faced
by NSFAS bursary holders due to alleged corruption within the funding scheme. The complaints laid by Sezoe are still currently under investigation at the time of this article’s publication. Du Plessis stated that the university has paid R21 million in order to assist students who were left without accommodation due to the cap, but also acknowledged that there is a gap between what NSFAS is able to pay and what the housing is going to cost. Du Plessis urged students to apply for additional funding provided to mitigate accommodation funding shortfalls . Du Plessis also confirmed that student registration for the 2024 academic year is conditioned on settling the debt incurred in the previous academic year. Students were reminded to apply for additional funding provided by the university by 30 September. An update regarding the status
of students who have appealed the cancellation of NSFAS funding due to onboarding difficulties was given by Werner Abrahams, Deputy Director: Student Fees and Debtors. “Nationwide, NSFAS has been struggling to give an outcome on the appeals. We have given our list of appeals to NSFAS, but it is a national problem,” said Abrahams. Kallie Sauls, Bursary Coordinator: Undergraduate Bursary & Loans, stated that at the time of the meeting, 10 000 appeals were under review. Sauls elaborated on the problems that the NSFAS funding scheme has in processing document contents, resulting in ongoing uncertainty regarding the status of their appeals. “We called students to communicate with them and guide them through the process in which their appeals got stuck. We are constantly calling students to visit our office to work on those queries that have been distributed,” said Sauls. The NSFAS funding scheme
Student pictured at the march to Parliament on 16 August. PHOTO: Ben Small
announced changes to its allowances and requirements via its website in the weeks since the meeting between NSFAS funded students at SU and managerial staff. The funding scheme announced changes including a 50% pass rate for the 2023 academic year and an increase in living allowances to the amount of R16500. The statement released on 6 October 2023 also reiterated that there will be no change to the R45000 housing cap.