A school in the Free State province has suspended teaching and learning due to the rising Covid-19 cases. Parents have demanded that all learners be tested before they return to school. 

If you have been declined for the R350 SRD grant in the period February to April 2021 and you’re curious as to whether you can still appeal this, keep reading.

Black Sash and a few other organisations have sent an open letter requesting for the COVID-19 SRD Grant to be extended as many South Africans desperately need this grant as they are still living with the impacts of this pandemic.

Many students across the country have complained that NSFAS has not been paying their allowances. The financial aid scheme has now explained why this is happening and what will happen.

Many successful applicants have been waiting for SASSA to process the payment of the R350 grant. SASSA has given clarity about the payment dates. The Special Covid-19 grant of R350 came to an end in April.

When the pandemic begun, students had to shift their lives from face to face lectures to remote learning. Challenges like, internet connection, time management and your family constantly distracting you are some of the things students are currently struggling with but, the biggest challenge has been mental health.

The Education Department and the Portfolio Committee are concerned about the delays in the school infrastructure projects. The Department and the departmental divisions across the different provinces are discussing implementing a penalty to hold the agents causing the delays accountable. 

As the Department of Basic Education puts forward a proposal to have all primary school learners return to class full-time, the Minister has since agreed that the current rotational system is not practical. A decision on whether this full return will happen is yet to be made.

Unpaid applicants of the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant could still receive payments once their applications are approved. SASSA says, they will pay approved applicant as soon as a confirmation of the applications approval has been received.

The issue of missing middle funding, along with postgraduate funding, is ongoing. The Minister of Higher Education is now pushing for NSFAS to introduce a loan scheme to support these categories of students.