NSFAS will now pay allowances directly to TVET students
NSFAS will now pay TVET college students their allowances directly into their bank accounts. Read the latest developments here.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) will now distribute allowances directly to TVET students’ bank accounts.
The decision came after students complained about delays in the payment or non-payment of their allowances
NSFAS TO PAY TVET COLLEGE STUDENT ALLOWANCES
NSFAS Administrator Freeman Nomvalo confirmed that the changes would take effect from the end of May.
In April, Nomvalo met with the leadership of the South African Technical Vocational Education and Training Student Association (SATVETSA) to deliberate on the increased unhappiness with the delays in the payment or non-payment of allowances, as well as the disappearance of allowances in student’s accounts.
Furthermore, Nomvalo said NSFAS has devised a payment mechanism to address these ongoing challenges with the assistance of its banker . This will be implemented for the payments that are due at the end of May.
“In terms of the mechanism, NSFAS will distribute allowances directly to student’s bank accounts. All TVET students who do not have bank accounts are encouraged to open bank accounts with banks of their own choice.
“The scheme will communicate to all NSFAS beneficiaries requesting them to update their details to enable the smooth implementation of this direct payment mechanism,” NSFAS said
“NSFAS is equally mindful of challenges experienced by university students, however, this direct payment mechanism will currently be applicable to TVET college students. University students will continue to receive their allowance through their institutions until the end of July 2024,” NSFAS added.
HOW MUCH ARE THE ALLOWANCES?
In February, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said for the 2024 academic year:
- The living allowance will be R16 500 for university students, including R3 045 personal care allowance and R13 455 meal allowance per year.
- Nzimande also announced that the living allowance for TVET students will increase from R6 000 to R10 000 as part of continued efforts to bring parity between the university and TVET sectors.
- In addition, the department has introduced the differentiated accommodation cap between metro and non-metro areas, which will see all institutions owned or leased and private accommodation being capped at R50 000 in metro areas and R41 000 in other regions per academic year.
LANDLORDS ALLEGEDLY LOCK OUT BENEFICIARIES DUE TO NON-PAYMENT
Earlier this month, Nomvalo said they received complaints regarding alleged outstanding payments for private student accommodation.
As a result, landlords have allegedly locked out students in some areas.
“Given the gravity of this situation, the Administrator has assigned NSFAS staff to attend to these matters urgently. We anticipate that these should be resolved during May.
“To ensure that these developments do not further disrupt teaching and learning, the Administrator would like to urge the affected landlords to cooperate with the established NSFAS process to attend to all concerns,” the financial aid scheme said.