DIRCO Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor.
(Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Veli Nhlapo)
DIRCO Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor.
(Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Veli Nhlapo)
Higher Education Minister Naledi Pandor has confirmed that almost R1 billion will be given to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), in order to help the historical debt of students currently at university.
It is understood that this generous hand-out will settle the debts of over 52 000 pupils. As Sunday’s media release clarifies, it will go towards a large number of students who began their studies in 2018 and just missed out on the free education funding scheme declared by then-President Jacob Zuma, before he was ousted 13 months ago.
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) are picking up the tab on this one. The total sum of R967 million will be transferred to NSFAS and has been designated as “the first phase” of taking on these historical debts.
The term itself refers to money owed to universities by students who are receiving NSFAS funding, post-enrollment in 2018.
The allocation is specifically for those who had been funded on the previous funding scheme of the NSFAS prior to the significantly improved funding support that began in 2018.
— HigherEduTrainingZA (@HigherEduGovZA) March 24, 2019
Students qualify for the terms of the “free education” scheme
The minister was happy to break the news on Sunday morning, and stated that government now has evidence to show that they’re aware of the issues faced by poorer learners who struggle to secure university funding:
“We are aware that there will be some students who entered the university system prior to the new scheme being implemented in 2018, who will continue to be funded through NSFAS on the pre-2018 funding model.”
“This is a significant contribution which will alleviate some of the debt owed to universities by students and is confirmation that government is sensitive to the plight of students from poor and working-class families.”
Naledi Pandor