The 2024 academic year will soon commence and many are questioning whether the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is ready for it. NSFAS recently revealed that thousands of students are yet to receive their NSFAS allowances from 2023.
In a statement released, NSFAS said:
NSFAS confirms that of the twenty thousand (20 000) outstanding allowances, 9128 allowances have been successfully resolved. The remaining eleven thousand (11 000) allowances are being prioritised and will be processed as part of the 2024 normal disbursement procedure.
NSFAS explained that these delays are due to a delay in the submission of registration data by universities, saying, "NSFAS will continue to engage the affected institutions in order to speedy resolve these disbursement of the outstanding allowances".
They have now said that all registration data should be submitted by 31 March.
Universities will not be permitted to change allowance types submitted within a particular academic term without the change being approved by NSFAS prior to such a claim being submitted, and the necessary budgetary approval obtained.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has criticised this announcement from NSFAS saying that NSFAS promised to have all outstanding 2023 allowances paid by 15 January.
"You are failing students! While Blade told everyone at last week's presser not to believe OUTA's exposure of corruption, assuring all payments will happen soon."
During an interview, the NSFAS Spokesperson, Ishmael Mnisi was questioned about the outstanding NSFAS allowances and he responded:
The issue of accountability that everybody is talking about we will do our part, students must do their part, institutions must do their part and that we will will take us forward. If it is NSFAS which has not processed an allowance, we will have to take the blame for that but in a case where we do not even have details of such students.
OUTA responded saying, "NSFAS Spokesperson, Ishmael Mnisi, tries to shift the blame on everyone but NSFAS".
Student Unions Call For NSFAS Allowances To Be Increased
One of the major calls which came from student unions is for NSFAS allowances to be increased. The South African Union of Students (SAUS) stated:
The Portfolio Committee must support the call for increase in student allowances (Meal allowance and Travelling).
SAUS has said, "since the inception of the current payment system, not a single month has passed without a crisis, questioning the need for monthly beneficiary verifications".
