Watch Nzimande defends NSFAS payment system video

NSFAS has announced it will increase students living allowances by 10%.Twitter/@myNSFAS

NSFAS increases students 2023 living allowances

The South African National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has announced it will increase students living allowances by 10%.

Watch Nzimande defends NSFAS payment system video

NSFAS has announced it will increase students living allowances by 10%.Twitter/@myNSFAS

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has increased the living allowance for students to receive 10%.

According to The Citizen, NSFAS said the increase will be backdated to the beginning of the 2023 academic year.

“This is a significant development given the reality that in the past three years, no increment was made on student allowances. This is an effort not only to acknowledge the impact of inflation on students’ livelihood, but a contribution to ease the economic disadvantages suffered by students,” the report quoted NSFAS spokesperson Maduvha Maseda as saying.

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NSFAS TAKE STEPS TO ADDRESS STUDENT ACCOMODATION ISSUES

The South African previously reported that the scheme recently took steps to deal with issues relating to its newly introduced accommodation cap of R45 000 per year.

The cap was introduced this year after it was discovered that there had been price fixing and in some instances collusion from university staff for exorbitant fees at tertiary accommodation.

ALSO READ: UCT Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng bows out

Students on the NSFAS grant are concerned that they will have to pay the excess, and in some cases the price cap has prevented them from accessing accommodation.

As a result protests have broken on number of universities across the country.

ALSO READ: WATCH: UCT Prof Phakeng says she’s ‘okay’ and ‘happy’

PROTEST ACROSS THE COUNTRY’S TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS BROKE AS A RESULT OF THE ACCOMODATION CAP

“Following the countrywide protest by public university students on issues related to the newly introduced accommodation cap, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) held robust consultations with the South African Union of Students (SAUS) to mitigate these challenges ahead of the commencement of academic classes.

ALSO READ: WATCH: UCT students clash with police

“During a meeting held on Monday, March 6, 2023, in Gauteng, NSFAS management and the leadership of SAUS agreed that SAUS would assist the scheme in collating details of students who do not have accommodation and are allegedly sleeping in public places,” said NSFAS.

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