NSFAS
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has confirmed that twenty-nine registered institutions will receive catch up payments by the coming Friday. The acting Chairperson of the NSFAS, Professor Lourens Van Staden, revealed the plans during a media briefing in Pretoria.
The decision to make these interim payments via the institutions comes after a series of delays primarily related to registration issues for the new academic year. “Communication was therefore sent to all universities notifying them of this decision. We also sent another communication to indicate the 2024 academic year allowances type distribution channel,” Van Staden disclosed.
Highlighting the commitment from NSFAS, Van Staden stated, “Financial aid managers were asked to confirm the universities allowances payment commitment dates. For Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, we will be paying through the direct payment channel.”
He elaborated on the proactive measures taken by NSFAS to support institutions and students. Notably, two upfront payments have been made to all institutions to manage the distribution of student allowances effectively. The first of these payments was released on 31 January and the second followed on 29 February 2024.
Explaining the logistics of the payments, Van Staden said, “These upfront payments were made to institutions for them to use the funds to distribute students’ allowances. The majority of institutions committed to paying students from the last week of February 2024.”
The first payment was geared towards covering book allowance at a rate equivalent to half the cost from the 2023 academic year and included funds for one month of accommodation. Medical students received additional consideration with provisions made for two months’ allowances to accommodate their earlier academic start date in January.
Van Staden provided details on the distribution of funds by NSFAS, indicating that “For universities, the NSFAS disbursed R2.8 billion in January 2024,” with TVET colleges receiving a substantial sum upfront as well.
The chairman emphasized the strategic timing and coverage of the upfront payments, asserting they are key in enabling institutions to smoothly navigate through the registration period—especially critical for medical students whose academic years start in January.
With the financial aid scheme requesting institutions to handle the payments for February and March, Van Staden advised that challenges at the beginning of the year necessitated this approach and urged institutions to facilitate the direct payment service providers in onboarding students.
As for the payments post-March, Van Staden clarified, “The direct payments of allowance for the 2024 academic year will commence in April 2024 and institutions will administer the payment of allowances for only two months (February and March) because the third allowance will be made on the direct payment platform. No exceptions or deviations will be allowed.”
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