Minister Blade Nzimande has urged the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to finalise outstanding payments from the previous year. Thousands of students were reported to have not received their entitled NSFAS allowances in 2023.
The impact of these unpaid allowances became evident at North-West University (NWU) towards the end of 2023, with several students stranded on campus. They lacked travel arrangements to go home and were without money for food, all due to the pending allowances.
During a media briefing on Tuesday, the minister addressed the State of Readiness for the 2024 academic year, NSFAS-related challenges, and the release of the 2024 matric results.
Emphasizing the importance of not denying affected students the opportunity to register, the minister warned that institutions refusing registration due to unpaid NSFAS fees could hinder students from crucial coursework at the start of the academic year.
The minister called on NSFAS, working collaboratively with affected institutions, to expedite the resolution of outstanding cases. He urged institutions not to deny NSFAS-funded students with outstanding payments the opportunity to register for the current cycle.
NSFAS confirmed that out of 20,000 outstanding allowances, 9,128 have been successfully resolved, with the remaining 11,000 being prioritised for processing as part of the normal 2024 disbursement procedure.
On January 18, 2024, NSFAS released a statement regarding the outstanding allowances for 2023. The delay in payment was attributed to a lag in the submission of registration data by universities. NSFAS said they will engage with affected institutions to promptly resolve the disbursement of outstanding allowances.
Acknowledging the delay in payments, Minister Nzimande attributed it mainly to reconciliations with institutions, particularly concerning registration data changes. He called on institutions to submit accurate and timely registration data to prevent delays in allowance payments.
I call upon NSFAS working together with the affected institutions to ensure that they speedily resolve all these outstanding cases. Whilst this is being resolved, I urge institutions not to deny NSFAS-funded students with outstanding payments to register for the current cycle.
Highlighting the importance of accurate registration information, the minister emphasised its role in circumventing delays in the payment processes.
Submission of accurate registration information is important to circumvent delays in the payment processes.
Looking forward to 2024, Nzimande called for stricter management of the registration adjustment process and emphasised the need for institutions to submit accurate registration information upon the initial submission.
NSFAS needs to be more strict in 2024 on how it manages the registration adjustment process and institutions ought to submit their registration information accurately upon first submission.
