Student leaders at the University of Witwatersrand (WITS) believe that education must be free for all. This call has long been held by student leadership but is heightened when students are unable to register for their academic years due to financial challenges.
They explain that students who are unable to register at WITS University fall into three distinct categories. This includes students who were funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) but are being barred from registering due to unpaid fees, students who have been defunded by bursary schemes and missing middle students.
WITS University registrar, Carol Crosley says if students have not yet registered for the academic year and have not been prevented from registering for financial reasons, the university is under the assumption that the student does not intend to return to classes.
The university has launched the Hardship Fund to assist students. The purpose of the fund is to assist students in registering for a current academic year or assist with the upfront fee for accommodation.
It's important to note that Hardship Funding is not a bursary. Students need to source other funding to pay the balance of the outstanding fees and current-year fee obligations. This funding is not guaranteed and is subject to availability.
Several Institutions Experiencing Registration Challenges
Registration challenges are not unique to WITS University. Students at several other institutions are currently experiencing the same difficulties.
Returning students at the Central University of Technology (CUT) say they are financially blocked from registering despite being funded by NSFAS. Even first-year students are unable to register despite being provisionally funded by NSFAS.
Management of the institution is trying to resolve the challenges by checking financial statuses.
The EFF Student Command at Walter Sisulu University bemoaned the slow registration process. At the start of February 2024, only 25% of students were registered.
The EFF say students were sent letters of admission acceptance, however, were later turned away when attempting to register. This was allegedly caused by an error in the system as some of the courses are not full.
Other student leaders accused the institution of not being ready for registration.
North-West University (NWU) says they are focused on ensuring accepted students are fully registered. This is because some students have only been able to partially register and could not complete their registration due to funding challenges.
The University of Limpopo reported that 40% registered first-year students were registered at the beginning of February. The institution received more than 200,000 applications but can only accept around 4000 first-year students.
They added that 90% of returning students were registered.
At the University of Venda (Univen) there are only 3,600 spaces for first-year students. The institution reportedly processed 2,300 first-year registrations at the beginning of February.
A matter of concern was that 900 students were forced to reapply for admission after the university’s online system rebooted their initial applications.
Students at the University of Pretoria (UP) were unable to register because they did not have money for registration fees. Some students were supposed to complete registration in January, however, they were unable to register because NSFAS had not released the funding list.
Some UP students could not register due to NSFAS appeal decisions not being finalised, unresolved NSFAS appeals, as well as students who successfully appealed NSFAS rejections but their funds were not released.
Minister Wants Indebted Students Registered
Earlier this year Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande called on institutions not to deny students the opportunity to register due to unpaid fees from NSFAS. This as the student risks missing out on crucial coursework during the commencement of the academic year.
I call upon NSFAS to work together with the affected institutions to ensure that they speedily resolve all these outstanding cases. Whilst this is being resolved, I urge institutions not to deny NSFAS-funded students with outstanding payments to register for the current cycle.
