Administrative crisis
Poor students bear brunt of chaos at student funding scheme
About 100,000 registered students who qualified for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding in 2018 had not yet received their allowances, Parliament’s portfolio committee on education heard on Wednesday. Another 29,473 students had not received their funding for 2017, painting a sordid picture of administrative chaos at the scheme. The chaos was a major setback for disadvantaged students who depended on NSFAS funding to further their education, DA spokeswoman on higher education and training Belinda Bozzoli said on Wednesday. She called for an emergency fund to be set up to assist students in dire need and for extraordinary efforts to be made to bring the NSFAS crisis to an end. Higher Education and Training Minister Naledi Pandor and her department acknowledged there was a failure of systems across the board, in both NSFAS and the institutions. "Only 45,338 university students and 15,348 TVET [Technical and Vocational Education and Training] students meeting fund...
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