Scores of students funded by government at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) are demanding their bursary change from the institution.
On Wednesday, students studying towards a qualification in teaching said they were among more than 200 beneficiaries for Funza Lushaka bursary, whose change for bursary funding had not been paid into their accounts.
They are also calling for government to appoint independent auditors to investigate the use of funding by the institution.
UFH spokeswoman Zintle Filtane confirmed the incident and that 477 students were affected.
She said it had been caused by delays in payments from the funder, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
“This is being addressed and it is expected that the problem will be addressed within the next few days,” Filtane said.
In a detailed statement, NSFAS stated that an amount of more than R48-million had been allocated for UFH this year.
NSFAS said they had paid all claims received to the value of R47872545.
“No claims are outstanding and no further claims have been received from the University of Fort Hare. We asked the university if they were aware of the allegations. The university knows about some Funza Lushaka bursary students who have complained that they have not yet received the cash component of the bursary. A student leader has complained that she needs the Funza Lushaka bursary to buy petrol for the luxury Audi that she drives,” the statement said.
NSFAS said their role was to administer the Funza Lushaka bursary on behalf of the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Each university receives an annual allocation from DBE.
“NSFAS is not involved in the process of deciding which students gets bursaries. DBE sends the approved list of bursary students to NSFAS,” the statement said.
NSFAS said the university submitted claims for each student to them to pay the claims to the university. The university then credits the student’s fee account.
Students who spoke to the Dispatch on Wednesday said they were getting frustrated with the university.
“This is what happened in the previous years. At some universities, our colleagues get their change around March. We always get it later and we don’t understand why,” said one student.
Another student said they used the funds for their own needs. Last year she received R30000 from NSFAS.
A student said a delegation had been sent to talk to management to try and resolve the matter. “But, we are not really hopeful that we are going to get any positive responses anytime soon. We don’t have much hope of getting our money this year,” she said.
UFH education students demand bursary change
On Wednesday, students studying towards a qualification in teaching said they were among more than 200 beneficiaries for Funza Lushaka bursary, whose change for bursary funding had not been paid into their accounts.
They are also calling for government to appoint independent auditors to investigate the use of funding by the institution.
UFH spokeswoman Zintle Filtane confirmed the incident and that 477 students were affected.
She said it had been caused by delays in payments from the funder, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
“This is being addressed and it is expected that the problem will be addressed within the next few days,” Filtane said.
In a detailed statement, NSFAS stated that an amount of more than R48-million had been allocated for UFH this year.
NSFAS said they had paid all claims received to the value of R47872545.
“No claims are outstanding and no further claims have been received from the University of Fort Hare. We asked the university if they were aware of the allegations. The university knows about some Funza Lushaka bursary students who have complained that they have not yet received the cash component of the bursary. A student leader has complained that she needs the Funza Lushaka bursary to buy petrol for the luxury Audi that she drives,” the statement said.
NSFAS said their role was to administer the Funza Lushaka bursary on behalf of the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Each university receives an annual allocation from DBE.
“NSFAS is not involved in the process of deciding which students gets bursaries. DBE sends the approved list of bursary students to NSFAS,” the statement said.
NSFAS said the university submitted claims for each student to them to pay the claims to the university. The university then credits the student’s fee account.
Students who spoke to the Dispatch on Wednesday said they were getting frustrated with the university.
“This is what happened in the previous years. At some universities, our colleagues get their change around March. We always get it later and we don’t understand why,” said one student.
Another student said they used the funds for their own needs. Last year she received R30000 from NSFAS.
A student said a delegation had been sent to talk to management to try and resolve the matter. “But, we are not really hopeful that we are going to get any positive responses anytime soon. We don’t have much hope of getting our money this year,” she said.
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