NSFAS warned about irregularities with bursaries

4 November 2020

Solidarity Youth today sent an urgent letter of caution to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in which the aid scheme is warned to stop its non-payment to tertiary institutions immediately. This warning comes in response to NSFAS’s failure to meet its contractual and statutory obligations to bursars with regard to the disbursement of funds to tertiary institutions.

Several bursars have recently been informed by their respective tertiary institutions that NSFAS failed to pay their study fees. This failure of NSFAS to meet its obligations to its bursars means that the students in question cannot continue or complete their studies.

“Students depend on bursary funds to study and to complete their studies. To be informed out of the blue that one’s study fees have not been paid, comes as a huge shock, especially for a student who, as it is, cannot afford to carry this type of cost on his or her own. This failure by NSFAS not only has a direct impact on students’ studies but in reality, it also robs them of their future,” Paul Maritz, Solidarity Youth and Career Development Manager, says.

In the letter of caution Solidarity insists that NSFAS resume all its obligations with immediate effect and that it undertakes to meet its contractual and statutory obligations, as set out in the bursary agreements, without any further failure.

“These students have all applied successfully for the bursaries, but NSFAS simply stopped paying without giving any reason. Solidarity cannot allow such failure by NSFAS to be merely accepted. When an agreement is entered into, both parties must abide by it. Solidarity will therefore not hesitate to take further legal action should NSFAS not comply with these demands,” Anton van der Bijl, head of Labour Law Services at Solidarity said.

Read the letter here.

Issued by Paul Maritz, Manager: Solidarity Youth and Career Development, 4 November 2020