The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education said yesterday that universities should prioritise submitting accurate student registration and enrolment data to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) at the beginning of the academic year to ensure accurate funding decisions.
The committee was speaking during a briefing from the Department of Higher Education and Training, Universities South Africa, the South African Public Colleges Organisation, NSFAS, the South African Union of Students and the South African Technical and Vocational Education and Training Students Association on preparations and readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The committee recommended that issues emanating from the 2024 registration period should not continue in 2025. These issues included delays in processing applications for funding, disbursements of allowances, processing of appeals and matters related to private accommodation.
The chairperson of the committee, Mr Tebogo Letsie, said, “After our engagements, we are hopeful that measures put in place to ensure a successful start to the 2025 academic year have been properly set in motion by stakeholders in the post-school education and training sector.
NSFAS told the committee that it has ended the pilot project and is now implementing the NSFAS Accredited Student Accommodation Programme. NSFAS also said it is in consultations to discontinue accommodation disbursements to individual students and by 2026 all accommodation disbursements will be directed to the accredited or recognised accommodation provider.
The committee recommended that the Department of Higher Education and Training should expedite the process of standardising allowances for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and university students, recognising their shared experiences.
The committee will undertake oversight visits to assess the state of readiness of TVETs and community education and training colleges during the 2025 academic year.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
