The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is a South African state-owned enterprise responsible for most passenger rail services in the country. The Agency has now partnered with a property company to provide accommodation for more than 3 200 students in Cape Town.
Students eligible for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding will be able to move to the units near Cape Town Station in February 2024.
NSFAS Student Accommodation Issues, Explained
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is experiencing ongoing problems regarding student accommodation. Securing student accommodation has been a long-standing issue, but particularly during this academic year.
Student accommodation is a major headache for students who are often left stranded, due to unavailable space and/or the accommodation cap implemented by NSFAS earlier this year.
The lack of available space and the poor quality of the residences makes studying difficult for students, which has resulted in protest action especially after the introduction of the R45 000 accommodation allowance cap.
According to NSFAS, when asked what strides had been made in improving the challenges associated with student accommodation:
- A total of 93 424 beds have been registered on the accommodation platform.
- 58 444 beds have been paid for on the platform.
- A total of 21 903 have been accredited.
- 4 TVET Colleges are participating in the test pilot, and agreement on students that still require accommodation is in progress with the said institutions.
- At one institution, the pilot is advanced where students have even applied on the platform for the accredited accommodation.
- The programme is hoped to be fully piloted in TVET Colleges in 2024.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has now stepped in to assist NSFAS-funded students with accommodation for the 2024 academic year.
PRASA's Plans
Prasa group CEO, Hishaam Emeram, has said that the project was worth R1.4 billion.
Prasa is pleased to announce the project is 88.8% complete, with the first intake of students expected from February 2024 and the retail precinct expected to be complete in November 2023. It is set to make a welcome contribution towards student accommodation in the City of Cape Town.
According to Emeran, the Cape Town station development (agreed between PRASA and Eris Property Group, the first ever co-investment for PRASA), is a "major achievement and milestone for Prasa Intersite in securing long-term financial stability for the business."
The plan involves the construction of student accommodation with 3,200 beds for NSFAS eligible students, right at the heart of the City of Cape Town’s transport network, additionally "enhancing foot traffic and the commuter experience."
Annette Lindeque, CEO of Intersite PRASA's asset investment company, said:
This mixed-use property development of the Cape Town station is one of the examples in which we are repositioning our stations as places where people can live, work and play, while creating transit hubs to enhance the passenger and customer experience.
NSFAS Accommodation Cap And Its Impact
Several universities and students have been negatively impacted by an accommodation cap introduced by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in early 2023.
Back in January, the bursary scheme announced that they would be introducing a R45 000 accommodation cap per annum, which many were against.
Amidst ongoing housing issues and the shortage of suitable accommodation, student organisations began calling for this cap to be reconsidered.
The accommodation cap was introduced to manage unregulated costs of student accommodation, also seeking to prevent profiteering and price collusion from private accommodation providers.
There had been previous allegations of corruption in the student accommodation sphere, particularly at the hands of private accommodation providers.
NSFAS provides allowances for securing accommodation (amongst other costs), but students have complained that the prices are exorbitant and simply unaffordable.
