Students from several universities plan to take their grievances to the head office of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in Cape Town tomorrow.
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Student representative council (SRC) leaders from universities in the Western Cape and the Free State say some students have not received funding while others were ‘wrongfully defunded’.
In a statement, they added that some students only received funding for study materials and not meals and accommodation, and that NSFAS failed to address students who appealed their rejection.
‘NSFAS has also taken another barbaric approach by hampering and disadvantaging the academic performance of students registered for less than 60 credits towards their qualification,’ as per the statement. ‘This scheme has decided that this cohort of students is only eligible for a learning materials allowance, excluding them from meal and accommodation allowances.’
The SRC leaders also criticised the scheme’s new payment method, which enables the organisation to distribute student allowances via its bank accounts. Their concerns refer to whether service providers could ensure due diligence to prevent fraud and corruption.
‘Students can register at the beginning of the year and later deregister, but they will continue to receive their allowances even when they are not students. In the same light, many students do not get accommodation at the beginning of the year and continue to stay at home or with their friends [while they] receive travelling allowances.’
‘As the year progresses, should they now get accommodation, the universities can pick that up and immediately cease the distribution of travel allowances. How will these companies be able to pick up such information, or will they continue to pay students travel allowances and later charge them for fraud?’
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