NSFAS to respond in 48 hours to 8 universitie

Pupil representative council leaders from the country’s eight universities, who marched to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme( NSFAS) office in Cape Town history( Wednesday) have given the tertiary education backing agency 48 hours to respond to their demands.

In their memorandum – which was entered by NSFAS principal fiscal officer Masile Ramorwesi – the scholars presented a list of 16 demands relating to the system used by the scheme to pay allowances; the minimal number of course credits that qualify for backing; and the prolonged time it takes the scheme to reuse prayers and backing opinions.

A aggregate of eight universities including the University of Cape Town, University of Western Cape, University of KwaZulu- Natal and the University of the Free State, shared in the march.

The scholars ’ leaders were protesting against the scheme’s use of third parties to pay pupil allowances; the duty of course credit demand to qualify for backing and the length of time it takes for the scheme to conclude prayers and backing opinions.

“ We vehemently reject the preface of the tender system in the payment of scholars. This system is the veritably system that has collapsed our country’s public sector and has plunged the country into a extremity of corruption that led to the deaths( at) Life Esidimeni, and the 15 people of Hammanskraal who have failed due to the cholera outbreak, ” the scholars said.

“ We inversely reject the 60 credit demand, which seeks to count other scholars from the holistic experience of literacy. It’s our view as a collaborative that it can not be that NSFAS is ignorant to the fact that literacy isn’t only being suitable to pay one’s freights, but it has to do with the terrain in which the pupil is in, ” the scholars said in a memo.

The pupil leaders, who said they represent “ the licit voice of the nearly one million university scholars across the country ”, demand the following
• Decentralisation of NSFAS administration.
• Immediate end to NSFAS direct payment system and for institutions to continue their payment system to scholars.
• Immediate attendance to and blessing of current NSFAS prayers within the coming four weeks.
• Cap on accommodation and allowances be scrapped entirely.
• Immediate release of the backing list.
• Close out for the scholars whose freights aren’t completely paid.
• Transport allowance for universities with unaccredited places.
• Review on the assessed restrictions placed on scholars living with disabilities ’ capability to buy assistive bias and learning accoutrements .
• junking of the lower than 60 credits rule as per the NSFAS backing renewal guidelines, and immediate full backing for all scholars affected by the lower than 60 credits rule.
• Immediate junking of the board and CEO of NSFAS, and for NSFAS to be placed under administration.
• Fair treatment or indifferent allocation of fiscal coffers to all universities anyhow of the literal bracket under intolerance.
• revamping of the backing model that takes in mind free, quality, decolonial education as a introductory principle and right in the South African popular division.
• End to the foolishness of the idea of the missing middle.
• Independent inspection into the fiscal and executive coffers and processes of NSFAS.
• Free education for all.
• Review and restructuring of the executive system to allow scholars to admit their backing and display accurate information of their backing status.

NSFAS prophet Slumezi Skosana said the operation of the backing scheme met representatives of the eight universities represented by SRC chairpersons and general registers.

“ It was a peaceful kick. The memo was entered by the CFO. We ’ll respond in detail in 48 hours. We did have engagements with the SRC representatives, ” he said.