DURBAN - THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) said yesterday that it has received the first part of its allocation from the National Treasury and would start processing payments of allowances to university students.
Last week, several university students complained that they were yet to receive their allowances.
NSFAS spokesperson Kagisho Mamabolo said: “NSFAS can confirm that it has since received the first tranche of its budgetary allocation for the first quarter of the financial year. The scheme will thus be able to start processing payments to institutions and paying student allowances from Friday.”
Mamabolo said official communication had been sent to all the institutions on the allowance payment process, and institutions that had compiled with the 2022 NSFAS Eligibility Criteria and Conditions for Financial Aid would receive payment.
“The communiqué from NSFAS further requests institutions to abide by the funding rules set out in the NSFAS Eligibility Criteria and Conditions for Financial Aid when disbursing funding to students,” said Mamabolo.
Alan Khan, senior director of corporate affairs at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), said NSFAS-funded students at the university had not yet received their student allowances from NSFAS for the current academic year. The institution said it had devised measures to mitigate the delay.
“DUT management approved a once-off living allowance payment of R1 500 for the month of March for all NSFAS-funded students who were registered by March 6,” said Khan.
He added that this was done to assist the NSFAS-funded students until payment is received from the scheme. He said normal allowances will then be paid to the students once NSFAS has paid the funds to the university.
“We thank the students for their co-operation and understanding while DUT awaits payment from NSFAS.”
Normah Zondo, executive director of corporate relations at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the institution advanced those confirmed NSFASfunded students with allowances while awaiting the release of funds by NSFAS.
“This comes at an enormous cost to the university, as NSFAS only receives its funds from National Treasury in April, by which time the university has already advanced students with allowances of three advance instalments for meals, stipends, private accommodation, travel allowances and first-semester book allowances.
“At this stage, 22 268 students have already been advanced with allowances in one form or another,” she said.
The University of Zululand’s director for communications, Gcina Nhleko, said Unizulu paid allowances immediately on confirmation of funding from funders.
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