By Aretha Linden and Sino Majangaza
With less than a week before students start writing their mid-year exams on Monday, hundreds of students from two Eastern Cape universities are still waiting to receive their meal and book allowances.
NSFAS and UFH blamed each other for the delays, and WSU did not answer the Dispatch’s questions.
Student leaders from both universities said even though their applications for funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) had been approved, they were yet to receive their monthly meal and book allowances for 2018.
Some students were surviving on a “liquid diet”, and without textbooks were not prepared for exams, the Dispatch was told.
Despite not having received the required registration data form for the universities, NSFAS board chairman Sizwe Nxasana said last month that NSFAS had made upfront payments earlier this year to allow some of the financially needy students to register and get their allowances while the process of data reconciliation took place.
The scheme made upfront payments of R262-million to WSU, and UFH received R128-million – 30% of the provisional allocation which the institution might receive from the scheme.
NSFAS spokesman Kagisho Mamabolo told the Dispatch that NSFAS was still awaiting registration data from the universities so that it could make the rest of the payments.
“Data was received with many errors [and] missing fields.
“Intervention by the management has led to significant improvements,” he said.
“With regard to WSU, they have not sent us their registration data,” he added.
UFH spokesman Khotso Moabi said UFH had been struggling to get NSFAS to evaluate and confirm the funded students, adding that the process had been slow and frustrating.
“Registration data and additional information is continually being requested despite us submitting such data,” said Moabi.
Moabi said the university could not pay NSFAS-related allowances to students until the scheme had confirmed the student was funded.
“We cannot rely on SMS confirmations. If we do this we are at risk of incurring bad debts.
“This was a decision taken by management.
“We try and do this with the deepest care and sympathy to students.
“However, if we do not manage this carefully the university could lose out on funding and be placed in a very precarious position and even potential bankruptcy, so we need to manage this carefully,” said Moabi.
UFH SRC president Xolani Jaji said more than 600 students from both the Alice and East London campuses were still waiting for their allowances.
The SRC deputy secretary at WSU’s Buffalo City campus, Lonwabo Sibonde, said that while NSFAS and the university blamed each other, 500 first- and second-year students were still without allowances.
The SRC academic and student services officer on WSU’s Butterworth campus, Bandile Mdlangaso, said more than 2000 students had not received their allowances.
“Some started receiving their allowances yesterday, but others are still waiting,” he said.
By print deadline yesterday WSU spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo had not responded to questions that were sent to her. —
arethal@dispatch.co.za
Several thousand varsity students still to get funds
With less than a week before students start writing their mid-year exams on Monday, hundreds of students from two Eastern Cape universities are still waiting to receive their meal and book allowances.
NSFAS and UFH blamed each other for the delays, and WSU did not answer the Dispatch’s questions.
Student leaders from both universities said even though their applications for funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) had been approved, they were yet to receive their monthly meal and book allowances for 2018.
Some students were surviving on a “liquid diet”, and without textbooks were not prepared for exams, the Dispatch was told.
Despite not having received the required registration data form for the universities, NSFAS board chairman Sizwe Nxasana said last month that NSFAS had made upfront payments earlier this year to allow some of the financially needy students to register and get their allowances while the process of data reconciliation took place.
The scheme made upfront payments of R262-million to WSU, and UFH received R128-million – 30% of the provisional allocation which the institution might receive from the scheme.
NSFAS spokesman Kagisho Mamabolo told the Dispatch that NSFAS was still awaiting registration data from the universities so that it could make the rest of the payments.
“Data was received with many errors [and] missing fields.
“Intervention by the management has led to significant improvements,” he said.
“With regard to WSU, they have not sent us their registration data,” he added.
UFH spokesman Khotso Moabi said UFH had been struggling to get NSFAS to evaluate and confirm the funded students, adding that the process had been slow and frustrating.
“Registration data and additional information is continually being requested despite us submitting such data,” said Moabi.
Moabi said the university could not pay NSFAS-related allowances to students until the scheme had confirmed the student was funded.
“We cannot rely on SMS confirmations. If we do this we are at risk of incurring bad debts.
“This was a decision taken by management.
“We try and do this with the deepest care and sympathy to students.
“However, if we do not manage this carefully the university could lose out on funding and be placed in a very precarious position and even potential bankruptcy, so we need to manage this carefully,” said Moabi.
UFH SRC president Xolani Jaji said more than 600 students from both the Alice and East London campuses were still waiting for their allowances.
The SRC deputy secretary at WSU’s Buffalo City campus, Lonwabo Sibonde, said that while NSFAS and the university blamed each other, 500 first- and second-year students were still without allowances.
The SRC academic and student services officer on WSU’s Butterworth campus, Bandile Mdlangaso, said more than 2000 students had not received their allowances.
“Some started receiving their allowances yesterday, but others are still waiting,” he said.
By print deadline yesterday WSU spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo had not responded to questions that were sent to her. —
arethal@dispatch.co.za
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