Pretoria - Thousands of higher learning students are in limbo after the National Financial Aid Student Scheme (NSFAS) withdrew funding for some, resulting in billions being owed to universities across the country.
According to university spokesperson Rikus Delport, the University of Pretoria was, at the beginning of the year, owed about R530 million in student debt.
Delport said about 800 students who had been funded by the scheme had been left in limbo after the scheme discovered they did not qualify for the funding.
Students at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Ga-Rankuwa reportedly owed R845m while Tshwane University of Technology students were also in debt to the tune of hundreds of millions.
Delport said as of December 31 last year, more than 35 000 students were in debt to the university, and the debt had accumulated over a decade.
He added the university was seeking funding alternatives.
“Each student is assessed on their unique situation, taking affordability into account.
“The institution is currently continuing to seek alternative funding options through our funders and donors to assist students with historical debt. We will also continue to monitor the situation closely and deal with the issues within our available resources while at the same time doing everything we can to ensure no deserving student is left behind.”
Sefako Makgatho Health Science University spokesperson Lusani Netshitomboni said the students’ historical debt stood at more than R350m as of the beginning of this year … and was growing.
Like the University of Pretoria, Sefako Makgatho was trying to come up with alternative means to help students with historic debt.
According to Netshitomboni, these alternatives included partnering with financial institutions to offer student loans.
“The university was also providing merit award/tuition waiver for those who are academically performing well (as well as) funding of missing middle by some funders, for instance Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority and Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases,” he said.
The situation had encouraged students to run fund-raising programmes for those who could not afford tuition fees.
At the University of Pretoria, the students were running a #UPToia programme aiming to raise R100m for students who needed financial assistance.
The Pretoria News recently reported a three-year campaign was launched last year to raise additional money for the UP Alma Mater Fund, that supported the financially struggling students.
According to the university, the students were identified as those whose families earned just enough to disqualify them from receiving NSFAS (funding), but were unable to afford bank loans for their education.
Previously, the University of Pretoria SRC received a R1.1m donation from the Motsepe Foundation.
Nsfas has been in disarray in recent years.
Earlier this year, dozens of University of Pretoria students who were funded by the scheme, gathered outside the university’s residence and accommodation offices in Hatfield to protest against the scheme, demanding NSFAS increase their accommodation allowance.
Around the same time, Sefako Makgatho students took to the streets in protest against NSFAS, unhappy with the non-payment of their allowances by the scheme.
Pretoria News