The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) is aiming to address the accommodation challenges currently faced by university students. To achieve this, businesses have been invited to sign off-take agreements with the government's bursary scheme.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) provides bursaries to students studying towards undergraduate qualifications at public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
NSFAS will cover a student's tuition and registration fees. Students are also provided with accommodation allowances, learning material allowances and living allowances.
The accommodation allowance ensures that students can live close to the campus they are studying at. However, capacity challenges at many university residences have left students scrambling to find accommodation.
To address the accommodation challenges, stakeholders have been invited to sign off-take agreements with NSFAS.
An off-take agreement is an arrangement between a producer and a buyer to purchase or sell portions of the producer's upcoming goods or services. In the case of NSFAS, they are calling on accommodation providers to agree to host the scheme's beneficiaries in exchange for their support.
NSFAS will employ the allocated budget for infrastructure and student accommodation to partner with investors and property developers, to stimulate the rapid construction of university residences in a manner that will enable the state to eventually own and control these assets.
NSFAS invited accommodation providers to register on the NSFAS accommodation portal. Providers can register and load their property to be considered for NSFAS-funded students.
After listing their properties, NSFAS will send experts to accredit and grade properties to ensure they are suitable for student living. NSFAS capped the student accommodation allowance at R45,000 for the academic year.
