The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has recently confirmed significant payments to South African students, totalling almost R1 billion.
According to their announcement, R608 million has been disbursed to university students, while an additional R383 million was paid to those enrolled at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
The NSFAS allowances are aimed at covering essential expenses for students while they pursue their academic goals. NSFAS payments are for allowances for meals, learning materials, and transportation costs.
These allowances are to cover costs for meals, learning materials and transport.
NSFAS will continue making NSFAS allowance payments to students at institutions who submitted registration dates after the 23rd cut-off date. They added that all funding applications for the 2023 academic year have been processed and students who applied for a NSFAS bursary will be informed of the outcome of their applications.
NSFAS Allowance Payment Challenges
While NSFAS has confirmed the payment of more than a billion rand to students, thousands of students have not received any money for allowances.
NSFAS explained that the non-payment of allowances to qualifying students is due to the failure of institutions to submit registration data to the financial aid scheme. The financial aid scheme has confirmed that while these students are provisionally funded, they will only receive allowance payments once their registration data is received by NSFAS.
As of June 2023, NSFAS started paying allowances directly to students using their new direct allowance payment system. The system was introduced in an effort to streamline the payment of NSFAS allowances to students and give them confidence that allowances would be paid.
However, several challenges have arisen with students struggling to grapple with the new payment system. Students have complained about exorbitant bank charges and the inability to access their allowances.
The financial aid scheme has assured students that officials have been disbursed to campuses around the country to assist them with challenges related to the payment system. This includes assisting students onboard themselves onto the payment system and allocating students with NSFAS bank cards.
NSFAS has assigned officials at different campuses to fast-track the onboarding process, the allocation and bank cards and resolve other NSFAS-related queries.
NSFAS has also vehemently denied reports that erroneous payments have been made to students. They argue that all claims about wrong or excessive disbursements are entirely untrue.
Related Article: How To Login To MyNsfas Student Portal
However, NSFAS has expressed regret that certain elements are attempting to derail their efforts to establish a student-centred model. They claim that some individuals, who had previously exploited the system for criminal and fraudulent activities, are now hindering their progress.
Despite these challenges, NSFAS vowed to continue with the implementation of the new direct allowance payment system.
NSFAS also alleged there is a deliberate smear campaign orchestrated by certain members of the media. They contend that these reports are designed to discredit the credibility of their recently-introduced payment platform.
To counter such efforts and protect its reputation, NSFAS has announced plans to collaborate with law enforcement agencies. They are determined to hold accountable those involved in the alleged smear campaign and where such actions escalate to crimes of defamation, perpetrators are brought to book.
