NSFAS DELAYING THE
ALLOWANCE OF STUDENTS
BY: Tshepiso Kodisang
On the 23rd of November 2023 the National Student Aid Scheme (NSFAS) officially opened the
bursary application season for the 2024 academic year and the closing date was suppose to be on
the 31st January 2024 but they decided to extend the applying date to 15 February 2024 which of
course means that the allowance dates will also be extended and that will affect most of the
students some students even stopped going to school due to the lack of transportation money that
they were supposed to get from NSFAS and what is painful is that you end up being deregistered
from the school by the teachers because you're not attending and it’s sad because they know very
well that it is a very tricky situation to go around borrowing money while you not working and you
don’t even if the NSFAS will approve or decline your application because there are a lot of
students who have applied and not all of them get to have that allowance and the other reason for
others it is because their income is more than 350 thousand and others are submitting the wrong
documents.
The students at Benoni Ekurhuleni TVET college have been waiting for their allowances since
March and it is said that other colleges have received their allowances but others have not that
shows that they are not treated equally because if they were treated equally all the students were
going to receive the allowance at the same day than to be given the false hope that tomorrow you
will get your allowances but when you check still but there problem lies with Ezaga because when
NSFAS release money they release it once and then Ezaga get to distribute the money and there
is a lot of corruption and that will obviously lead to students quitting colleges and the rates of
unemployment will continue as we all know not attending class means that you are missing
important lectures, discussions and activities that contribute to the overall learning experience this
can result in lower grades and weaker academic performance.
Nomasonto who is a 22 year old student said, “I stopped going to school because the person who
was giving me a taxi fare and money for lunch got tired which is my boyfriend the father of my child
he is the only person I depend on since I have no parents and I only live with my granny who
depends on pension” and she continued by saying “sometimes classes end late and I get home
very late and by the time I get home the child is still at creche with no one to fetch her and I have to
pay money die after school daycare which is I don’t have that money and I can't go back to school
because it's been days without going probably they have deregistered me and I may not receive
NSFAS due to my lack of attendance” people are trying so hard to go back to school to secure the
future of their loved ones but on the other side Ezaga and NSFAS is not doing justice to that and
lectures don't want to hear such excuses they want you to make a plan to arrive at school and
attend classes.
The office of SRC said, “we are aware that there are still some students who are unable to see
their 2024 statuses and the issue is noted and we are going to submit that issue at student support
service (SSS) together with that one of appeal were status just stuck on appeal submitted, we will
continue submitting weekly problems that we come across until everyone is fine”. We hope this
process won't take long because there are many needy students who deserve this funding and
NSFAS and Ezaga must stay in touch with students and give the money like it does with other
colleges.
Nothing inspires a student than knowing that at least she or he has transport fare to go to school.
