A group of students protesting the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
With the aim of venting about the shortcomings of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme from the perspective of students, we wrote this to reveal the effects of the corrupt conduct of NSFAS and Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) personnel.
NSFAS was established to compensate for the unbalanced approach to higher education faced by prospective students from disadvantaged backgrounds. To an extent, as former beneficiaries of NSFAS, we can confidently say it has fulfilled its mandate to the black community of South Africa. So, where is the glitch?
Since 2022, NSFAS has been under investigation following suspicions of corrupt behaviour by Ernest Khosa, the former chairperson, and Blade Nzimande, the minister of higher education and training. Working hand-in-pocket with the Services Seta, these state bodies have signed off more than R37 000 000 (yes, million) towards merchandise sold at inflated prices.
These funds were intended for black youth who wanted an education but could not finance it.
The effects of the corrupt activities of these officials were, sadly, felt by students who had applied for funding from NSFAS. Unpaid accommodation fees saw students face eviction, with nowhere to go. Unpaid allowances saw them survive on empty stomachs and unpaid academic fees had graduates looking for work with no proof of qualification.
The lack of adequate planning, execution and monitoring of financial assistance by NSFAS has seen the majority of students receiving academic funding mid-term in the first semester. This lengthy waiting period caused many problems.
First, while students wait for their funding, the academic clock does not wait; it keeps ticking, which results in them missing out on the education they registered for.
This can have psychological effects, such as mental breakdowns, because students have to catch up on three months of academic work in one month. They can also feel isolated from their peers who have been able to attend lectures from the first day.
Second, some students — men and women — resort to desperate means to get money to keep their places at universities.
For female students, this can mean giving up their bodies for financial “reward”. Some of them take on “sugar daddies” and, as much as the intention might be good, the outcome can be detrimental. The psychological effects of being the unwilling young lover of a much older man can leave scars that NSFAS reimbursement cannot heal.
It shouldn’t be like this. Passing matric and looking forward to pursuing tertiary studies, only to be failed by NSFAS with procedures that block registrations, unpaid fees, meals and accommodation, with no response three months later, is unjust.
In 2023, for the first time, NSFAS got ticked out by the clock in releasing the usual application date, which is another glitch that exposes the cracks in the NSFAS system.
The relationship between NSFAS and students is unbalanced. Both parties should be invested in education, as opposed to one party stripping away the dignity of students who, according to the NSFAS mandate, deserve to be financially assisted.
NSFAS needs to up its game and ensure that students receive their funds on time because, in the end, these students are being up-skilled to take care of the country. Our aim is not to name and shame the country’s main higher education funder, but to plead with the authorities for the sake of the country’s future.
Greed is an undesirable trait. It is destructive and it has repercussions that will be felt for generations to come. The government is undeniably corrupt but our plea is for at least the education-related government bodies to stay true to the regulations that bind them.
Tshegofatso Malehodi has served as a guest speaker at Tshwane University of Technology FM, representing the Black Management Forum, as the chair of the Tshwane Women’s Empowerment Desk. She also won the South African Mask for Tomorrow Innovation Challenge.
Zandile Magubane has worked for BUA, the TUT student newspaper, a public relations and communications intern for TUT’s Institute for the Future of Work and has explored the world of entrepreneurship as a public speaker and MC.