Ahmed Kajee
The Department of Higher Education says returning students who have qualified for National Student Financial Aid Scheme(NSFAS) funding should sign acknowledgements of debt before being allowed to register at their respective universities.
This comes after campuses in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were shut down, with protesters calling for the scrapping of historical debt.
Demonstrators say some students were barred from registering because of outstanding fees which weren’t paid by Nsfas.
However, Higher Minister Naledi Pandor says students under Nsfas who have passed should be allowed to register, despite outstanding fees.
The department’s spokesperson, Lunga Ngqengelele, explains: “A Nsfas qualified student should be allowed to register. All the returning students need to sign an acknowledgement of debt and be allowed to register.”
However, Ngqengelele says this doesn’t apply to all students.
“The call is strictly for the students who are Nsfas qualified. This is not for all students. This is not what the minister said.”
