Issues with the National Student Financial Scheme (NSFAS) that unfolded at the beginning of the 2023 academic year rocked both universities and students.
One particular issue revolving around the eruption of student protests at various institutions of higher education, was the delay in the distribution of NSFAS allowances as well as the fact that many student accommodation facilities were too pricey for students to afford.
Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Minister, Dr. Blade Nzimande, said students housed in private, accredited accommodation off campus would receive an allowance capped at R45,000.
Many students took protest action as a response to this allowance cap, pointing out that the accommodation cap makes it difficult for them to find housing, hence why they have called for it to be removed. A number of university Vice Chancellors (VCs) also raised concerns regarding the cap.
Securing student accommodation is already challenging, as there limited space and availability on campus. Now, with the added (and suspicious) increase of certain private accommodation's rent prices, the process is made more strenuous.
Students have shared that the high shortage of beds in some institutions continues to be a battle, and it is for this reason that many have resorted to searching for alternative housing outside of the official residences of institutions.
To solve some of this issue, NSFAS began fast-tracking the accreditation of student accommodation providers, on the newly introduced Student Accommodation Portal, to ensure that additional beds were made available to the Tertiary Education Sector.
According to the bursary scheme, "by 20 March, a total of 393,227 beds were registered by 20,751 service providers across the country."
NSFAS has appointed 38 accreditors, who have been trained in the last month. A total of 3,027 beds were accredited between 13th and 17th of March, and by the end of the week of 22 March, there should be another 3,000 beds and more that are accredited.
More than 3,000 beds became available to affected students in five universities, through the accreditation process, said NSFAS. Many VCs have also taken the initiative to ensure that emergency beds were provided to students.
"As further demand for beds arises, NSFAS will assess whether or not the accreditors are able to keep pace. The assessment at this stage is that NSFAS does not need more accreditors," said the scheme.
Although the Higher Education Ministry has previously stated that the accommodation price cap decision is based on a comprehensive study, the Economic Freedom Fighters Student Command (EFFSC) maintains that the ministry has failed to address issues concerning costs of living and accommodation in Higher Education.
Despite this, NSFAS has also stated that they will continue to appeal to accommodation providers who are willing to stick to the R45,000 price cap for NSFAS-funded students.
