Exuberant Tshwane South College students marched to the Department of Higher Education and Training in Tshwane on Wednesday afternoon against the blunder that has been committed by the student-funding body NSFAS.
Many students marched to the department with their suitcase full of clothes.
The peaceful march was led by:
Coordinator of EFFYC Tshwane Sub-region 3 Elvis Tshiwawa,
SRC Treasurer Tshwane South college Atteridgeville campus Pretty Maaka,
Coordinator of EFFC Tshwane sub-region 4
Tshwane South college students Onkarabetse More
Convener of EFFYC Tshwane sub-region 4
Itumeleng more
SRC chairperson of TSC Pretoria west campus Takalani
The blunder in question entails that NSFAS paid each student large amounts of R13 800 without indicating that R10 800 of the amount is for the purposes of accommodation.
Many students then chowed all the money and failed to pay their landlords the required R10 000 accommodation fee as NSFAS had not informed them that R10 00 of the R13 800 paid to them was for accommodation.
The payments were made to students on 4 April this year and now realising their blunder, NSFAS then releases a statement on 13 April this year wherein it didn’t acknowledge it’s mistakes but instead threatened students to pay their landlords R10 000 accommodation fee or else they will be evicted from where they are staying.
“National Student Financial Aid Scheme urges students who have received R10 000 designated for accommodation allowances to settle their outstanding payments with their landlords as soon as possible because it is important to note that failure to comply may result in eviction or deduction of allowances,” reads the statement.
The statement further reads as follows:
“This call from NSFAS comes in response to a misunderstanding regarding the student the student allowance payment of R13 800 made to students on A 4 April 2025, of which R10 800 has been allocated specifically for accommodation purposes.”
The statement continues as follows:
“In light of this situation, NSFAS, effective from 10 April 2025, requests that institutions promptly inform students residing in NSFAS-accredited accommodation – who have received these funds intended for housing – to settle their outstanding payments with their landlords.”
In conclusion the statement reads as follows:
“Additionally, NSFAS calls upon Student Representative Councils (SRCs) and all student organisations to ensure that the affected students adhere to this request to avoid unnecessary inconveniences.”
Be that as it may, students are adamant that there is no way they would be able to pay their landlords the said R10 000 accommodation fee because they have chowed it due to NSFAS’ failure to let them know that the money was meant to pay for their dwelling places.
“We blame NSFAS for its reckless mistake and we want the department to speak with NSFAS and tell it that the students have simply chowed the money and so NSFAS must take accountability as this is not the students’ fault,” Coordinator of EFFYC Tshwane Sub-region 3
Elvis Tshiwawa said.
Other demands which were written in the memorandum that was submitted to the Department of Higher Education and Training on Thursday 16 April are as follows:
1.Outstanding living allowances of R1, 700 be paid within two working days.
2. We demand that the R13 800 received by students be converted into living allowances for at least seven months.
3.We request that the Department of Higher Education and Training in collaboration with NSFAS establish a scheme similar to FUNDI to handle accommodation payments similar to universities, to prevent service providers from evicting students due to non-payment.
4.We demand that NSFAS statuses be updated within five working days before disbursement of accommodation money on 17 April 2025 and this must include updating statuses for both the previous year and the current year.
5.We call upon NSFAS to terminate contracts of service providers who are evicting students from their accommodations.
6.Suspension of Chief Operations Officer Mr Errol Makhubela with immediate effect.
Students at the department of higher education and training
7.We demand that NSFAS refrain from releasing multiple, conflicting statements within a short period. (e.g, three different statements within a week), which causes confusion and uncertainty among students.
The students’ additional concerns are that outstanding fees of students who were not funded last year be paid by NSFAS and that appeals be re-evaluated and updated accordingly.
Tshwane Talks has noticed that indeed many students have presently been kicked out of their dwelling places due to failure to pay and are now stranded as they don’t have a place of abode.