Students left in lurch by new funding model
Campuses hit by protests after NSFAS innovation leads to delays in living allowances and loan agreements
Two university campuses have been shut down and thousands of students left in limbo after the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) failed to release living allowances and approving appeals for study funding on time, leading to chaos at the University of Venda and the University of the Free State. Thousands of students protested at the University of Venda after not receiving their living allowances, while students at the University of Free State’s Qwa Qwa campus called for a fundraising plan to be implemented because of NSFAS’s slow response in processing their study funding application appeals. Unlike in the past when universities distributed allowances to students, NSFAS has introduced a new "student-centred" model wherein it gives funds directly to students. NSFAS chairman Sizwe Nxasana had advocated for the model in 2016, saying it would ease the administrative burden and, hopefully, reduce delays in giving funds to students. But a lack of training and technical problems...
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