Categories: Education

NSFAS Confirms What Caused NSFAS Payment Changes

NSFAS Confirms What Caused NSFAS Payment Changes: Millions of students rely on the NSFAS monthly allowance payments to cover basic expenses. The scheme has revealed why they changed the allowance payment systems.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is striving to enhance student allowance payment management.

NSFAS offers comprehensive bursaries and student loans to eligible students enrolled in recognized courses at universities and TVET colleges. This includes funds for tuition and registration fees, as well as allowances for food, lodging, and educational materials.

In recent years, issues with the scheme’s management have weakened the crucial work of NSFAS. This included delayed allowance payments, which put students at danger of starvation and eviction.

Issue with Student Allowance Payments

Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane, the newly appointed Minister, stated that efforts are ongoing to enhance allowance payments. This includes improvement in the management of allowance payments. NSFAS Confirms What Caused NSFAS Payment Changes.

“This has caused unnecessary stress for students and their families and continues to pose a threat to the stability of some TVET colleges and universities”

NSFAS Administrator Of Allowances

NSFAS administrator Freeman Nomvalo said the change in allowance payment methods for colleges and universities has helped with the payments.

“Regarding student allowances, the committee may recall that at the start of the year, particularly around April and early May, many students—especially in colleges and universities—experienced delays in receiving their allowances.“

In April 2024, NSFAS stated that universities would be responsible for paying NSFAS allowances to students until the end of July 2024. However, in July, the program announced that institutions will continue to pay NSFAS allowances through the end of the year.

TVET colleges students were still facing issues—either not receiving their allowances or losing them due to various challenges. This created significant instability, leading to threats of mass action by students.
Starting in May 2024, all NSFAS-funded TVET college students’ allowances will be sent directly into their personal bank accounts. If students did not already have a bank account, they had the option of selecting one. NSFAS Confirms What Caused NSFAS Payment Changes.

“To address this, we implemented an interim measure through our current banker, paying students directly,” Nomvalo told me”

Since the implementation of these new allowance payment arrangements, students have reported significantly fewer challenges with allowance payments.

Since then, there have been no reported instances of students not receiving their allowances, to our knowledge. Moreover, this approach has proven to be cost-efficient. While we intend to extend this process throughout the sector, we are currently unable to do so due to a legal challenge related to the cancellation of the existing contract. NSFAS Confirms What Caused NSFAS Payment Changes

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