The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education in Parliament has warned the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), against cancelling student accommodation agreements with unaccredited providers in the middle of the term.
The committee says this will unfairly impact students and cause disruptions. This emerged when the newly appointed NSFAS board briefed the committee on various matters relating to student appeals, funding decision for the 2025 academic year, accommodation and the disbursement of student allowances amongst others. Committee Chairperson, Tebogo Letsie urged the scheme to deliberate on decisions affecting students timeously, to avoid any inconveniences.
“We fully support the cancellation of unaccredited accommodation and as the committee, we concur on that point. However, when cancellations happen during the academic term or trimester, it creates serious challenges. Students are left stranded, unable to graduate and burdened with debt for decisions they had no control over. We must urgently move toward ensuring that all accommodation is accredited,” said Letsie.
He called on the scheme to urgently address its operational shortcomings adding that they affect students during critical academic periods. Letsie concluded by describing the miscommunication or delays in informing NSFAS beneficiaries regarding funding decisions as an unfair practice. The committee implored NSFAS and Higher Education institutions to strengthen and improve their communication process.
