A detailed explanation of NSFAS Defunding, Allowances, and Accredited Accommodation.

NSFAS Defunding  

 

The defunding of NSFAS students is anti-poor and an injustice to all prospective and current students in institutions of Higher Education. With the COVID-19 pandemic, this further exacerbates the immense socio-economic inequalities in our country. 

 

In the context of Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网, LLB students were subject to being defunded during the 2020 academic year. This is also inclusive of NQF B.Ed. We escalated this issue earlier this year to the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 stakeholders and it was concluded that NSFAS funded LLB students will be cleared to register alongside B.Ed. students. This is on condition that students met the academic requirements.

 

The lack of communication from NSFAS further adds to the myriad of issues that fellow students have been facing. This is a disservice to students as clearance for registration and allowance payments have been delayed. 

 

As the SRC, we had engaged with the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 and SAUS on several occasions to establish a contingency plan for first time entry students’ allowances to be disbursed while awaiting the 2021 NSFAS guidelines. In the recent communique from the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 (“NSFAS Funding Update”), it states that “until such a time when confirmation is received from NSFAS about the status of allowances, first time entering and returning students will not receive allowances from the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网”. 

 

We believe that the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 should revisit this decision as it affects the livelihood of students. As the SRC, we will continue to escalate this matter on the grounds of asking for students to receive their allowances while signing an acknowledgement of debt form and submitting a payment plan as done in the previous years. Communication regarding the outcome of this engagement will follow in due course.

NSFAS Accredited Accommodation 

 

As per the communication on the 25th of January (“Implementation of the accreditation policy for NSFAS Students”) by the institution, it was stated that “students who will be signing their leases after the 1st of March 2021 are urged to seek accredited accommodation service providers who are in line with the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 policy”. 

 

As it stands, the accredited accommodation list has not been released. Therefore, we are pushing for an extension of this deadline to allow students to continue to enter into non-accredited private leases until a substantial list of accredited accommodation is released.