Johannesburg – The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) on Tuesday announced that it had paid the disbursements for University and TVET college students.
NSFAS said in a statement that the payments were in respect of students for the 2024 academic cycle, against valid registration records received on 15 March 2024 for TVET colleges and 19 March 2024 for universities.
“NSFAS would like to remind all institutions that the monthly payment date for TVET college allowances is the 25th of every month, and for universities, it is the 30th of every month,” the statement said.
“It is therefore important that institutions submit their registration data to be included in the initiation of payment by the respective NSFAS cut-off dates communicated.”
In the current payment circle, NSFAS paid University allowances to the value of R2 306 583 222 in total, which is divided as follows:
- Tuition to universities – R1 258 865 972
- Allowances via universities – R653 954 716
- Direct payment to students – R393 762 534
Loading of the 2024 registration data
NSFAS said it has initiated the registration upload period for institutions to submit the registration data for the 2024 academic year.
“Upon confirmation of funding and student registration for the funded/approved qualification, institutions are strongly encouraged to promptly submit their outstanding registration data for the 2024 academic year to NSFAS,” the statement said.
“This submission is crucial for us to process payments for tuition and allowances.
“Institutions and the students are reminded that all subsequent disbursements will be based solely on the registration data received and processed successfully.”
At the time of generating the payment file, NSFAS said it did not received the registration data from the University of Fort Hare and the University of Stellenbosch.
The list below indicates the number of registration data received on March 19th after the payment file generation. NSFAS said, unfortunately, this registration data did not form part of the April payment file:
- University of Venda
- University of Mpumalanga
- University of Limpopo
- University of the Witwatersrand
- Sol Plaatje University
- Durban University of Technology
- North West University
- Vaal University of Technology
- University of Stellenbosch
- Mangosuthu University of Technology
- University of the Western Cape
- Tshwane University of Technology
TVET colleges allowances
NSFAS said on the latest payment, the scheme paid TVET colleges allowances and tuition to the value of R 511 106 120 in total, which is divided as follows:
- Tuition to colleges – R147 115 846
- Allowances via TVET colleges – R34 831 311
- NSFAS Card Allowances- R298 971 220
- Student Accommodation via solution providers – R30 187 743
Institutions submission of registration data
NSFAS said the two TVET colleges – Lovedale TVET College and South West Gauteng TVET College – have not met the 15th March 2024 cut-off date for the submission of registration data for the April payment.
“Unfortunately, this registration data did not form part of the payment file for the April payment of allowances,” the statement said.
“As of 4 April 2024, all the TVET colleges had uploaded their registration data and the only TVET college that still needs to upload its registration data is Lovedale TVET College.”
NSFAS said it was working with the college to ensure that they finalise the process of loading the registration data.
Student Accommodation
NSAFS said accommodation providers were also urged to ensure that all students in their accommodation establishments were onboarded on the myNSFAS accommodation portal.
“This will ensure that the registration data submitted by institutions contains this critical information which will ultimately lead to the payments of Accommodation Providers which accommodates NSFAS students,”the statement said.
Accommodation allowance paid comprise of the following:
- Institutional residences – R255, 765, 764,00
- Private accommodation – R436, 732, 491,00
Total accommodation disbursement: R702, 498,255,00
NSFAS interventions on institutions that have not submitted registration data
NSFAS said it has sent its servicing administrators to work with all college and universities to finalise the submission of the registration data and to actively addressed NSFAS-related challenges faced by students.
“The servicing administrator is currently working with all institutions that have not submitted their registration data in order for them to comply with this standard operating procedure for the payment of allowances,” the statement said.
“Through these regular visits to campuses and the provision of assistance and support, NSFAS aims to alleviate the tensions and contribute to a harmonious academic environment for all institutions.”
UJ uploaded incorrect registration data
NSAFS said during the 2024 academic year registration data upload period, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) mistakenly uploaded incorrect registration data, resulting in erroneous allowances being paid out to students.
“Instead of uploading the correct amount of R16 500 for the academic year 2024, the institution accidentally uploaded the R3 300 meal allowance,” said the statement.
“The payment of allowances is not a manual process; rather, it is system-based.
“The NSFAS system processed the R3 300 claimed assuming it was for annual allowances, and consequently divided it by 10, representing the 10 months from February to November 2024.
“The implications of the incorrect allowance payment are significant. Students who received lower allowances (R330 instead of R1 650) than expected are likely to be dissatisfied.
“This dissatisfaction may lead to protests and a negative perception of the NSFAS direct payment process.”
NSFAS said rectifying the error will require efforts from UJ. Staff will need to investigate the issue, communicate with affected students, and process corrections in the system.
Additionally, NSFAS said it will have to ensure that the adjustment platform is ready to receive corrections.
“There is a reputational risk associated with this incident,” the statement warned.
“The NSFAS disbursement process might come under scrutiny and be blamed for UJ’s error.
“Negative publicity can impact NSFAS’s image and erode public trust in its operations.”
