The South African Students Congress (SASCO) President Alungile Kamtshe says accommodation challenges are prevalent nationwide. Kamtshe says the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) decision to centralise accommodation accreditation is one of the main factors behind the challenges.
The explanation of that process led to a mismatch between university-registered students and those in private residences, causing landlords (unpaid by NSFAS) to evict students and refuse re-entry until NSFAS reconciles its records.
This highlights critical flaws in the NSFAS accreditation system.
Kamtshe called on the Minister of Higher Education, Nobuhle Nkabane, to demand that institutions make registration more efficient. This would also compound the challenges faced by students who require accommodation.
CPUT Challenges
At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) District 6 campus, hundreds of students were left without a safe place to stay over the weekend. The university is working to house eligible students and has approximately 16,000 available beds.
CPUT Residence, Financial Aid and security personnel worked through the night to successfully place 410 qualifying students at two residences.
The university has emphasised that only eligible students will receive accommodation. However, the determining of eligibility takes time, all while students are left to occupy pavements around the campus.
The vetting and processing of applicants has been happening every day this week, with batches of 50- 100 students being housed as spaces became available. The process will continue today and into the new week.
CPUT Spokesperson Lauren Kansley explains that students must have registered for the 2025 academic year and be able to produce a valid CPUT student number to be considered eligible for accommodation.
At this stage, the applicants who are left are mostly not registered for study in 2025, NSFAS or funding rejected, or they were not able to provide valid student numbers.
Kangsley explained that the university is unable to house all of its students. Therefore students are encouraged to explore private accommodation.
"We are unable to accommodate absolutely everybody who applies we received 88,000 applications for residents at last count so that means that you know if we've got something like 38,000 students."
