Students demand urgent intervention as accommodation crisis deepens

Students across the country continue to face mounting financial pressure just weeks into the 2026 academic year, with concerns ranging from delayed allowances to ongoing accommodation shortages.

This has left scores of students battling to afford basic necessities such as food, transport and essential learning materials, placing their academic progress and well-being at serious risk.

Olwethu Buthelezi, a chemical engineering student at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), has called on government to prioritise increased student funding.

“There is a need for more funding to be allocated to students. We deal with a lot. Considering that the expenses are too much for a student. There should at least be an increase so they can sustain their expenses,” Buthelezi said.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has once again come under scrutiny over accommodation challenges, an issue that resurfaces at the start of nearly every academic year.

Thousands of students rely on NSFAS funding to cover tuition, accommodation, food and learning materials. However, ongoing delays have left many uncertain about how they will cope.

“Some don’t even have residences, and at the same time, we do not have data. We do not even have food to be able to attend those classes,” Buthelezi added.

Tensions recently escalated in Cape Town, where hundreds of students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) gathered outside Cape Town City Hall near Parliament, highlighting what they described as an ongoing accommodation crisis.

Some students alleged they were evicted from a private residence linked to the institution – claims the university has denied.

CPUT spokesperson, Lauren Kansley, said only a small number of protesting students were without allocated beds. She added that the institution had repeatedly warned students not to arrive on campus without confirmed accommodation.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Higher Education Deputy Minister Buti Manamela, addressed the issue and confirmed that he briefly left the State of the Nation Address on Thursday, 12 February, to meet protesting students outside Parliament.

Meanwhile, NSFAS Acting CEO, Waseem Carrim, acknowledged that accommodation shortages remain a challenge in certain parts of the country.

“In some areas of the country, there is insufficient accommodation, and thus the aid scheme pays a direct accommodation allowance where students can go and pay for their own allowance,” Carrim said.

“Of course it’s always a tricky relationship to be the funder and to manage the relationship between the private accommodation provider and the student and in some cases the institution as well. NSFAS does their best to do that through a robust lease agreement, clear guidelines and protocols for how we allocate space,” Carrim said.

Carrim added that demand for student housing far exceeds that for transport allowances, suggesting that institutions and students may need to reconsider whether those living closer to campuses could commute instead of seeking accommodation.

As the academic year gathers pace, students say urgent and sustainable solutions are needed to ensure financial and housing challenges do not disrupt their studies.

Written by: Realeboga Nke