The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has confirmed that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students will receive their NSFAS allowances directly from the scheme.
Newly appointed NSFAS administrator Freeman Nomvola met with the leadership of the South African Technical Vocational Education and Training Student Association (SATVETSA) to address allowance payment challenges.
The meeting dealt with students' increased unhappiness with the delays in the payment or non-payment of allowances, as well as the disappearance of allowances in student’s accounts.
TVET college students have been left frustrated over the late and non-payment of allowances in recent months. There have also been cases where students have reported the disappearance of their allowances.
Following the conclusion of the meeting, NSFAS announced that a new allowance payment system will be implemented from May 2024. This new payment system will see NSFAS allowance paid directly into a student's bank account.
NSFAS has devised a payment mechanism to address these ongoing challenges with the assistance of its banker which will be implemented for the payments that are due at the end of May 2024.
TVET college students have been encouraged to open bank accounts with a bank of their choice if they do not have an account.
NSFAS said they will communicate with students to request them to upload their bank account details on the myNSFAS portal. Students who upload their bank account details on the myNSFAS portal should receive their May 2024 allowance without any delays.
The scheme will communicate to all NSFAS beneficiaries requesting them to update their details to enable the smooth implementation of this direct payment mechanism.
The financial aid scheme acknowledged the challenges experienced by some students on the April allowances which have already been disbursed. NSFAS says senior officials have been deployed to college campuses around the country to assist students experiencing challenges.
NSFAS is also attending to the challenges of students who may have not received their allowances so that the new mechanism is not burdened by legacy issues.
Allowance Plans For University Students
NSFAS has confirmed that university students will continue receiving their allowance payments directly from their institutions until July for now.
Students who were paid on the direct payment platform until April should continue to use those funds. The new arrangement is only from May onwards, more communication will be sent on the off-boarding process.
This will be done by providing equitable access to financial and other resources for eligible students in an efficient, transparent, and professional student-centric manner.
