Students who owe rent at Vuselela TVET Colleges in Jouberton and Potchefstroom campuses in the North West, have been evicted from their residences because the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) didn’t pay their monthly grants on time.
Last week academic activities were disrupted after the students protested because the college failed to submit the required information to NSFAS to enable NSFAS to disburse the required grants for the upkeep of the students.
The college had promised the protesting students that the NSFAS money they have been demanding will be in their accounts on or before last Saturday but the payment is yet to be received by the students.
Student Registration and Financial Aid Services Assistant Director at the College Augustine AU confirmed that the money did not go through and asked for more time to investigate what caused the delay.
The SRC President Brian Nazo said the students leadership was meeting with management, to arrange alternative means of accommodation and to protect students who are unable to return home.
“On Friday management released a memorandum evicting hostel students, saying that they must evacuate by Sunday afternoon, however we then told the students that they must stay as they did not have means to go back home,” he said.
Nazo said some of the students have left but the remaining ones were receiving their daily food.
“At the end of the day hostel students do not owe rent as the college does not receive money from them directly but from NSFAS directly,” he said.
Nazo said on Monday, the students had to readjust to the situation at the college. He said student leadership engaged with the students to allow trimester students to write their final exams, before continuing with their strike.
“We had to stop the strike for now, because if those students do not write this exam they will not qualify or be beneficiaries of NSFAS anymore,” he said.
