STUDENT FUNDING CONCERNS – IMPACT ON STUDENTS AND HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. Earlier this year the Scheme took several decisions which adversely affected its beneficiaries as well as the institutions which they attend. These included: –
1) Capping the accommodation allowance at R45 000 for all students nationally. This took place without notice and many students now face a shortfall as rentals in prime student housing areas such as Braamfontein, Hatfield, Rondebosch etc. cost R65 000 and more. Our position is that accommodation allowances need to be adjusted according to location.
2) Defunding previously approved students in the middle of the academic year without notice. Whilst the grounds for defunding (e.g. students come from households earning more than the R350 000 per year cap) may be legitimate in many cases, doing so without notice and without options for appeal is unreasonable and has left thousands of students with a huge fee debt which they have no prospect of settling. Individual circumstances should have been considered and where possible, these NSFAS bursaries could have been converted into loans. This would have given the students the opportunity to continue their studies whilst not benefitting from the NSFAS bursaries to which they are not entitled. The implementation of a student loan solution for all Missing Middle students remains an urgent priority.
3) Moving the payment of allowances from the institutions to four separate private organisations with no previous history in this type of work. Again, this was done suddenly in the middle of the year without first conducting a pilot study. The fallout has been nothing short of catastrophic for thousands of students who have not received any allowances in the second semester and have literally been left starving. It has since been established that the tender for these contracts was irregular and they have now been cancelled but this does not provide any relief for the affected students. Whilst we support the Student Centred Model adopted by NSFAS in terms of which students are paid their allowances directly into their bank accounts, contracts for these payments should have been awarded to organisations with capacity and track records in this area and the move should have been piloted with a limited group of students to ensure a smooth transition.
Subsequent to all of the above, the CEO of NSFAS has been dismissed (currently under appeal) and several other senior managers have left the organization raising doubts about NSFAS’ organizational capacity and direction moving forward. We note with concern that the 2024 NSFAS applications opening date has now been moved from the end of September to November 21. This may well result in delays in NSFAS approvals for the new academic year causing many students to either lose the opportunity to study in 2024, start their academic year late or not being able to secure accommodation and/or receive allowances timeously. The spectre of student protests also looms large.
Not only does all of this impact negatively on hundreds of thousands of students, it also impacts on the higher education institutions themselves who are left to face the brunt of student debt, academic failures, discontent, poverty and distress.
Access to and success in higher education is a key factor in improving the lives of previously disadvantaged students, their families, and communities. This in turn contributes to the development of the South African economy. None of this can be achieved without effective student funding.
We would like to take this opportunity to urge all parties concerned to act with urgency to ensure that the new academic year starts well with correct and timeous funding approvals and allowance disbursements.