Students up in arms about NSFAS debt

The mission of the National Student Funding Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is to help students from poor and working class backgrounds further their education. However, some NSFAS students are facing issues such as outstanding debt and unpaid accommodation allowances at several universities and TVET colleges in the country. 

University of Witwatersrand (WITS) students – many of them NSFAS recipients – recently protested due to a lack of accommodation and called on the institution to utilise their resources to create more accommodation. 

North-West University (NWU) bursary office manager Danie Hefer said, “At first NSFAS used to have criteria for accredited accommodation but now the responsibility is on the university to determine its own accommodation criteria. So that might be the problem for other universities. There is a lack of accredited accommodation in Potchefstroom but we are working on it.”

Mothusi Mere, a recipient of NSFAS funding for three years who faces accommodation debt said, “It is a terrible experience. My parents are not financially stable to pay my fees as I have two other siblings still in school that they support. I have an outstanding amount for my accommodation from 2019. Even though I was allowed to stay in the same place this year, I worry about who will pay the [outstanding] amount.”

Hefer said that at this point the NWU Potchefstroom campus accounts are under control. “If NSFAS approved students are facing debt, they were asked to fill out the Acknowledgment Of Debt (AOD) form and they were allowed to register for the academic year as well as stay in accommodation.”

Historical debt at the NWU Potchefstroom campus has been claimed for 2017/2018 from NSFAS, 2018 debt was approved but there are still complications for the 2017 debt, Hefer said. A claim for 2019 has yet to be sent because there is not a clear amount yet. 

“It is a long process as we have to get verified documents stating the debt so it does take a while for approval of the claim. NSFAS is a bit slow with paying the historical debt,” Hefer said. 

SRC Chairperson said poor administration at other universities is to blame for the issues there. “On the NWU Potchefstroom campus, the management and student council are working well together to make sure that these issues don’t arise.”