Universities are facing an issue where there are not enough beds to accommodate the students who are in need of on-campus accommodation.
A review by the Department of Education has indicated that for the thousands of students at the 50 public TVET colleges in the country, there were only 10% of beds available. This then leads students to seek out private accommodation.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) spokesperson, Kagisho Mamabolo made an announcement that stated:
Most institutions have a process of engaging private accommodation providers to support the students.
NSFAS will fund students who are staying at private accommodation but students will have to make sure that the accommodation is NSFAS accredited in order for NSFAS to pay for it.
All the institution has their own set criteria and policies when they select students to reside in private accommodation.
Mamabolo said private residences are not paid for directly by NSFAS but the institution/student would pay the residence. This will possibly happen after the student receives their NSFAS accommodation allowance to their bank account.
NSFAS has also announced that in due course they will unveil plans for private accommodation.
