The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) says it has paid the April student allowances of whom they received information from their universities on time.
This follows several complaints by students claiming that they have not received their money, while others only received a fraction of the amount.
The financial aid scheme says a number of universities submitted their registration data after the payment file generation deadline.
The institutions include the University of Venda, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Tshwane University of Technology.
NSFAS spokesperson, Ishmael Mnisi, says the submission of registration data from universities is crucial for the processing of payments for tuition and allowances.
“Institutions and the students are reminded that all subsequent disbursements will be based solely on the registration data received and processed successfully.”
On Monday, students at the South West College in Roodepoort braved the cold Gauteng weather and took to the streets over unpaid allowances.
Classes and exams were disrupted at the institution.
Students claimed they hadn’t received any money for months on end and were being chased out of their residences.
This was today at South West College Roodeport Campus. When I say we are in a ticking time bomb I really mean it.
In this rain students decided to take it to the streets all because NSFAS officials sitting in air conditioned offices in Cape Town are not doing their job.#NSFAS https://t.co/mSDleCZIzP pic.twitter.com/Mzz6XNGW75
— Donald Mkhwanazi (@MkhwanaziDonald) April 8, 2024
NSFAS has revealed that South West College was among the colleges that did not meet the 15th March deadline for submission of registration data.
Mnisi says this did not form part of the payment file for the April payment of allowances.
Students at the Tshwane University of Technology have threatened to shut down the country over the continued challenges experienced by students due to NSFAS.
TUT SRC president, Keamogetswe Masike, has slammed the financial aid scheme and the Higher Education Minister for ignoring the plight of students.
He says the delay in payments has affected the academic programme immensely.
Masike says they are planning a national shutdown and a march to the Department of Higher Education in Tshwane.
They are calling for the termination of contracts of the service providers appointed to disburse funds.
NSFAS says UJ is to blame for the delays after the university uploaded wrong registration data.
Some students at UJ only received R330 instead of R1 650 of their allowances.
Mnisi says UJ will have to investigate the issue and rectify it.
He says there is a reputational risk associated with the incident.
“The NSFAS disbursement process might come under scrutiny and be blamed for UJ’s error. Negative publicity can impact NSFAS’s image and erode public trust in its operations.”
NSFAS says it has roped in its servicing administrators to work with all colleges and universities to finalise the submission of the registration data.
The scheme says its administrators will also address NSFAS-related challenges faced by students.
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