Tshwane TVET college students concerned over shelter

Some students attending colleges across Tshwane are concerned for their refuge, claiming that they would be evicted from their res due to outstanding payments since the year began.

The students, who are current beneficiaries of NSFAS, claim that the financial aid scheme has not covered their accommodation.

Amukelani Mabasa, a student and SRC president at Tshwane TVET College, says the financial aid scheme appears to have prioritised university students for accommodation funding, leaving college students behind.

The 25-year-old, who is also struggling with housing as a NSFAS beneficiary, claims that landlords have started turning against students, with some even threatening eviction by the end of this month.

“NSFAS has not been paying for our accommodation and we’ve been getting messages from our res managers that we might get evicted because it is failing to pay for our accommodation and now it’s been four months without NSFAS paying,” says Mabasa.

According to Mabasa, thousands of affected students from Tshwane South and Tshwane North TVET colleges have already staged two protests at the Department of Higher Education and Training—in March and again in April — but say their concerns have been ignored.

She adds that many students who rely on NSFAS for funding have faced ongoing accommodation challenges since the start of the academic year.

Mabasa says students had to ask police for assistance to access their residences on Monday, after being locked out by the administration office.

Some of the students feel helpless and cheated, claiming that NSFSA advised them on where to locate accommodation while it pays, but no money for rent has appeared since the academic year began.

The students, who are largely from regions outside of Gauteng’s borders, are concerned because they are unfamiliar with their current surroundings.

Nikki Ndlhovu (22), who was given the opportunity to study towards becoming a legal secretary at Tshwane North TVET College, says he is from KwaZulu-Natal and knows very little about Gauteng.

He adds that the financial aid scheme suggested to him to reside at Boikhutsong Residence, in Tshwane’s CBD, as he had no idea where to go.

“What they are doing to us is painful because I am from far. I am from KZN so even this place; I don’t know it well. I was made to choose this accommodation because I didn’t know where to go. I am now so surprised when things are like this because where do they expect us to go when they evict us?  because some of us have no money at all,” says Ndlhovu.

He claims that returning home to KZN after coming this far in his studies is not a viable option because the circumstances at home are not favourable, and that he needs the R1 700 he receives for allowance to aid his family there as well as support himself.

Some students report that they have not received any money from NSFAS and have been forced to rely on themselves to buy groceries and pay their rent.

The students claim that res managers have given them until the end of today to pay their due balances.

Other students have threatened to boycott Pretoria CBD students’ residences, citing maltreatment by their management.

As reprisal for alleged mistreatment by some Tswnane CBD student residence management, the college scholars have threatened not to return to the residence next year as a collective.

Aluncedo Pakisi (24) is furious that the managers are treating them as if they refuse to pay, owing the problem to the financial aid scheme.

“For future purposes I think we should advise all the students not to come back to this residence, especially CBD residences, because they are mistreating the college students,” says Pakisi.

She says she is studying electrical infrastructure and construction at Tshwane South College and is originally from the Eastern Cape.

She adds that the students should hold another demonstration to show their concern about the accommodation issue, despite having staged two previous protests earlier in the year, which were both allegedly ignored by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Some students complain that some res officials have forced them to utilise their allowance monies to compensate for their rent.

These students claim they received their allowance money last week for the first time since the start of the 2025 academic year, and were forced to pay rent with it by res officials.

Sarah Malebake, a 24-year-old Marketing student at Tshwane North TVET College, received R5 100 over the long weekend, which she believes is her allowance, that she hasn’t received since January.

She claims NSFAS did not mention that she needs to use the money for rent, but she was asked to use some of it to cover one month’s rent at Boikhutsong Res.

“They didn’t say anything and according to us, those who need to receive R 1700 for allowance every month, when we calculate the money we need to receive for the outstanding three months, it adds up to the R5100 that we got,” says Malebake.

Malebake’s balance for housing in the residence is still not completely covered, and she fears eviction at the end of today, along with many other college students who live there.

Karabo Tswai, a 21-year-old electrical engineering student at Tshwane South TVET College, believes NSFAS should be held accountable after receiving the same amount and risking eviction.

“This thing is upsetting us as students because some of us come from very far. NSFAS must just take accountability,” says Tswai.

Other students claim that NSFAS misled them when it purportedly sent rent money into their bank accounts rather than their accredited residence account, as is customary.

Students report that allowance money is frequently deposited straight into their bank accounts, whereas money for rent and school fees is credited to their living and learning institutions, respectively.

Carol Ntuli, who is 24 years old and a hospitality student at Tshwane North TVET College, claims she was surprised to find R13 000 in her bank account in March.

She claims the financial aid scheme remained silent for two weeks after she received the money, which she mistook for allowance because she hadn’t received it in three months.

“When they sent it, it took them two weeks to tell us that the money is for accommodation. We were waiting for our allowance money and we immediately thought that the money was for that purpose,” says Ntuli.

Ntuli claims that NSFAS contacted them a few weeks later, wanting that they send R10 000 to their res providers, despite the fact that she had already spent the money on herself and her family back home in Mpumalanga. Written by Odirile Rabolao