As the new year commences, various organizations are diligently addressing pending matters for the upcoming year. NSFAS has disclosed its strategy for streamlining operations.
In a recently issued statement, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) disclosed that as of December 5, 2023, 234,124 students have received their NSFAS allowances. These disbursements constitute the finalized payments for the year 2023 after reconciliation.
This exercise was done in order to disburse the final allowances to students whose allowances were not concluded due to changes in their registration data. The process also ensures that disbursements are paid directly to institutions for tuition and for advancing payments to students.
The reconciliation process for NSFAS allowances involves three distinct phases: direct payment of allowances to students, allowances allocated to institutions for tuition, and allowances disbursed to students through institutions.
Currently, NSFAS has yet to disburse allowances to an additional 20,000 students. The financial aid scheme attributes these unresolved cases to the need for further input and consultation with institutions.
The objective is to complete all outstanding allowance payments for 2023 by 15 January 2024. This timeline is crucial to prevent any impact on the disbursement of 2024 allowances due to unresolved NSFAS allowance payments.
The NSFAS board is scheduled to conduct meetings with pertinent organizations and stakeholders. During these sessions, they will provide updates on their preparations for the 2024 academic year, along with insights into NSFAS eligibility criteria and conditions.
Uncertainty looms regarding the future of allowance payments, fueled by revelations that the former CEO of NSFAS, Andile Nongogo, had connections with the service providers involved in the direct payment system.
The NSFAS board will further make public announcements on the implementation of the Werksmans Attorneys report in relation to the direct payment service providers.
Students Slam NSFAS Excuses For Unpaid Allowances
NSFAS says they are currently working to ensure students receive allowances they are entitled to for the 2023 academic year. However, student unions says these are just excuses.
Dlanjwa, rejected the explanations provided by the NSFAS spokesperson, dismissing them as "absolute rubbish" and "nonsense." They say since the inception of the current payment system, not a single month has passed without a crisis, questioning the need for monthly beneficiary verifications.
The reality is that for the commencement of the current payment system, there's not a single month that has gone by without a crisis, which brings us to the conclusion that the explanation given by the spokesperson of NSFAS and the department, Mr. Mnisi, is absolute rubbish.
Dlanjwa recognized the complex nature of the challenge and detailed several strategies utilized by SAUS, such as dialogues with the Department of Higher Education and engagement with various stakeholders.
