Lerato Mbhiza
THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) says close to 100 000 students have not received their November allowances because institutions delayed submitting the required information.
Information from universities still needs to be verified before funds are released and that thousands of students from five universities have been affected and have been left stranded as the academic year draws to an end, NSFAS said.
NSFAS spokesperson Slumezi Skosana said the scheme needed to implement control measures after some universities failed to stop paying the allowances themselves after June, as instructed, but that they were working with these institutions to address the problem.
Skosana also denied weekend reports that some students were starving during exams at the University of North West, University of Venda, Durban University of Technology, University of Limpopo and the University of Cape Town.
He added that university students, tuition, and allowances disbursement were initiated on 25 October.
“Unfortunately for some universities, these payments were withheld pending the finalisation of the Universities reconciliation, which is very critical information to ensure that NSFAS disburses allowances correctly to the institutions for tuition and living allowances to students.
“This is an important measure to ensure that NSFAS accounts for each and every disbursement it makes to properly account for using public money”.
In June, NSFAS introduced a new direct-payment system that allows for funds to be paid directly to students instead of to the institutions they attend.
However, the system has had challenges with students complaining about late-payments and high transactional costs leading up to protest action earlier this year.
A Parliamentary inquiry was instituted against NSFAS and based on its recommendation the CEO was fired and all the contracts of direct-payment service providers were revoked.
INSIDE EDUCATION
