The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has confirmed a significant payment error, resulting in some TVET college students receiving R13,800 in allowance payments for April. Notably, R10,000 of this amount was intended for accommodation providers, not direct student disbursements.
NSFAS, which provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to students at TVET colleges and universities, funds tuition, registration, and living allowances. The error occurred due to discrepancies between student lists provided by solution partners and institutional confirmations, according to NSFAS.
"Some students who received direct payments were not included in the global list, nor were they confirmed by the institution on time as eligible for accommodation," NSFAS explained in a statement.
Consequently, allowances were disbursed to these students.
The scheme is now urging affected students residing in NSFAS-accredited accommodation to immediately remit the R10,000 to their landlords. Institutions are also requested to assist students in obtaining the necessary payment details.
NSFAS kindly requests that institutions promptly inform students residing in NSFAS-accredited accommodation, who have received these funds intended for accommodation, to settle their outstanding payments with their landlords as soon as possible,
Students are instructed to obtain payment details, including the accredited amount, from their landlords and provide proof of payment to their institution's Financial Aid Office.
NSFAS has warned that failure to comply may result in eviction or deductions from future allowances. The scheme has provided institutions with full remittance details to facilitate the correction of this error.
