With its ongoing attempts towards catering to students in financial need, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has made it easier for millions of students to complete their studies without extreme financial burden.
However, when it comes to the matter of accommodation, many NSFAS students are still being left without a place to stay at the beginning of each academic year. As this pattern continues to repeat itself, a number of institutions have realised an accommodation issue that has grown partly as a result of the NSFAS-stipulated accommodation criteria.
The NSFAS accommodation criteria requires that student accommodation be within 20 km of the students’ institutions, to be accredited. In the case of off-campus and private accommodation, the location should be within reasonable distance of campus transportation, and should be priced reasonably enough for students to be able to afford it with consideration of the newly proposed R45 000 cap in accommodation allowances.
There are other requirements to be met regarding basic amenities as well. These include room size requirements, internet requirements, and basic furniture necessities, to name only a few.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation recently shared in response to a committee question that,
Some institutions…have a challenge of accommodation, where the areas the campuses are located have no suitable accommodation that can be accredited or leased for placement of students. These institutions have applied for a deviation from the NSFAS Eligibility Criteria and Conditions for the NSFAS funded students.
If approved, the deviation will grant students the ability to be housed in accommodation that is not yet accredited by NSFAS nor supported through the student allowances. This will allow for less students to be left unaccommodated during registration.
Nonetheless, the ministry did note that students’ late registration for accommodation has also played a role in their inability to receive accommodation. However, it is said that “Universities have prepared spaces for such emergencies and students are allocated temporary beds until their registration is finalized”.
