By Johnathan Paoli
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has restored funding for 182 Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) students who were defunded under the N+ rule after incorrect qualification codes were entered or updated.
The funding was restored after the Office of Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Yusuf Cassim intervened following more than 300 complaints submitted by TUT students through his help desk.
“Although these issues might seem administrative, for students they are highly personal, affecting their ability to register, access allowances for meals, transport or accommodation, and continue their studies. No student should miss academic time due to incorrect data or unresolved issues between the institution and NSFAS,” Cassim said.
The cases submitted to the help desk primarily concerned students who had been defunded under the N+ rule, pending GAP investigations, dual registrations and data-sharing problems between TUT’s financial aid office and NSFAS.
The N+ rule limits NSFAS funding to the minimum duration of a qualification plus one additional year, or two additional years for students with disabilities.
After receiving the cases from Cassim’s office, TUT and NSFAS worked through the individual files and identified 182 students whose qualification codes had been incorrectly updated.
The university subsequently made the necessary corrections, allowing NSFAS to restore the affected students’ funding.
TUT has confirmed that the funding has been fully restored and that September allowances have been paid to the 182 students.
Cassim visited TUT on Wednesday, accompanied by officials from the Department of Higher Education and Training’s university branch and NSFAS.
The delegation met TUT’s senior management, led by vice-chancellor Professor Tinyiko Maluleke, as well as representatives of the institution’s Student Representative Council.
The engagement also uncovered a separate problem involving more than 1,300 students whose accommodation payments remain unresolved.
According to the ministry, 1,212 students had been placed in accredited accommodation after the NSFAS portal closed, but their accommodation costs had not subsequently been paid.
A further 115 students had their NSFAS funding approved after the portal closed and consequently faced the same accommodation payment problem.
Cassim has written to the NSFAS board, asking that the cases be investigated without delay and that affected students be assisted immediately.
The intervention comes as NSFAS continues to work through a broader backlog of funding and allowance disputes affecting students at universities and TVET colleges.
The scheme has confirmed that payments have been processed for students whose GAP investigations were successfully concluded.
Nationally, funding has been reinstated for 2,476 TVET college students, with payments for students with valid registrations processed and issued from 25 August.
A further 3,234 university students have had their funding reinstated.
Cassim’s office said the deputy minister had been consistently following up on students whose funding was restored after the conclusion of GAP investigations to ensure they also received their outstanding allowances.
NSFAS has indicated that students whose GAP investigations have been successfully concluded but who have not yet received their allowances can approach the help desk to have their cases escalated.
Dual registrations have also emerged as a significant source of funding problems.
NSFAS received 2,982 records involving students who were registered at more than one institution. Of these, 1,303 cases have been confirmed and are being paid.
At TUT, 16 cases of dual registration had already been resolved, but the students’ funding had not yet been restored.
Cassim has urged NSFAS to prioritise the outstanding cases.
The ministry said the issues highlighted during the TUT engagement demonstrated how administrative and data-management problems can have immediate consequences for students’ ability to remain at university.
The latest intervention follows growing pressure on NSFAS and universities to resolve funding disputes quickly, particularly where students face disruptions to accommodation, transport and living allowances.
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