The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) confirmed that it has made total payments amounting to R1.6 billion for student accommodation. This comes after several challenges and delayed payments to put students at risk of losing their accommodation.
NSFAS provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving students enrolled in approved courses at universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. These funds cover tuition and registration fees, along with various allowances for food, accommodation, and learning materials.
The accommodation allowance is crucial as it enables students to live near their educational institutions. Without this support from NSFAS, many students would be unable to pursue their tertiary education due to the unaffordable cost of accommodation.
While the payment of approximately R1.6 billion signals that the government bursary scheme is headed in the right direction, many students face challenges due to unsuitable living conditions and unfavourable contracts with landlords.
Of the R1.6 billion R311 million has been paid to NSFAS-accredited TVET College Accommodation Providers (APs, and R1.297 billion to NSFAS-accredited University Accommodation Providers.
While the payment of approximately R1.6 billion indicates that NSFAS is moving in the right direction, many students continue to face challenges due to unsuitable living conditions and unfavourable contracts with landlords.
NSFAS says various issues resulted in delayed accommodation allowance payments, most of which have now been resolved.
Reasons for Delayed Payments And Improvement Plans
One of the key issues identified was the placement of students by Accommodation Providers without adhering to NSFAS criteria or without the knowledge of the institutions. This resulted in the placement of non-funded students. To address this, NSFAS is finalising the verification process for these students.
Once completed, the outcome will be shared with APs, instructing them to treat unfunded students as self-funded.
Another issue arose from lease agreements not being signed on time by both parties, either the student or the Accommodation Provider. This delay led to late submission of invoices and students moving from one AP to another without following the proper procedures.
NSFAS says Solution Partners and institutions are actively reaching out to affected students and APs via SMS and email, urging them to sign the lease agreements promptly.
Late submission of registration data by institutions has also been a contributing factor to delayed payments. This issue caused significant payment delays.
However, affected institutions have been encouraged to submit registration data on time, and this approach has proven successful in resolving the problem.
NSFAS also faced challenges due to late funding decisions, which caused delays in signing lease agreements, submitting invoices, and making payments. To prevent this in the future, NSFAS plans to finalise funding decisions by the end of December for the next academic year.
Lastly, incorrect invoicing has been an issue, particularly as many landlords are more familiar with university systems rather than the different cycles used by TVET colleges. This mismatch created misaligned expectations.
To address this, NSFAS is conducting ongoing roadshows that serve as information-sharing sessions for APs, helping them understand the payment cycles specific to NSFAS.
