ABOUT forty-one percent of students were unable to buy their own food and went hungry for some days during the lockdown.
Nearly 10% of students indicated they relied on food donations and food parcels, and 14.5% said they sometimes had to rely on food given to them by people they know. Less than 1% reported that they had no place to stay.
These were some of the findings that were unpacked by Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville Campus yesterday, in a study that focused on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on youth and students in the post-school education and training sector.
The study was conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and Higher Health, which targeted 13 119 students from all universities, technical vocational education and training, and community education and training colleges.
The HSRC’s professor Sibusiso Sifunda said study participants were between the ages of 18 and 35, with the majority being first-year students.
“Food security was an issue during the lockdown. Out of the 2 680 students who relied on food donations, nearly 10% were dependent on food parcels, while a further 14.9% relied on handouts sometimes. About 2 683 students had no food and would go hungry on some days.”
Sifunda also highlighted that 65% of students experienced mild to severe psychological distress with the ages 18 to 19 being the most affected group, followed by 25 to 29-year-olds.
Nzimande said: “I am concerned that there were students who were going hungry. This underlines the importance of working together. However, we continued to pay the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances even when we were on lockdown, so that at least students would not go hungry, amongst other things. Also for them to have ways and means to teach and learn. I’m pleased that Higher Health has developed a model of staff and students’ wellness. The issue of mental health needs special attention.”
Nzimande also hailed CPUT for its vaccination centre. It will be the third university in the country to have the site.
Higher Health chief executive Dr Ramneek Ahluwalia said Covid-19 had exacerbated mental health issues globally.
“This was a pandemic in the post-school education sector before the virus. Suicide still remains the second biggest cause of death among young people in higher education. As Higher Health we established a 24-hour toll-free helpline for mental health in August last year. About 15 000 young people used the platform to ask for assistance.
“This number is clearly shocking and indicates the huge rise of mental health that includes GBV (gender-based violence), academic stress, the loss of their loved ones and hunger.”