Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board chairperson Ernest Khosa has sought to explain the scheme’s new system and policies.
This amid the disenfranchisement of thousands of students whose debt has shot through the stratosphere.
Students from various higher education institutions protested last week, demanding why 45 927 of them were suddenly defunded.
Students, such as those at the Durban University of Technology, also raised concerns about NSFAS’ new payment system, eZaga, as well as delays related to payouts.
Addressing a media briefing on Monday, Khosa said the scheme was “perturbed, to say the least” about the protests and disruptions at universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
“[It] is not something the scheme takes lightly as it is an adverse of what we have been mandated to achieve,” he added.
Khosa said 355 270 students had authenticated themselves to receive allowances.
He added:
Khosa said before the new changes could go live, NSFAS had done its due diligence and undertook a consultation process with sector stakeholders.
They include Universities South Africa, the SA Public College Organisation, SA Technical and Vocational Education and Training Student Association and SA Union of Students.
This was done to review the guidelines and ensure the current challenges faced by students will be addressed.
“It is therefore worrisome the disturbances in question are attributed to an insinuation NSFAS is imposing system changes; we pride ourselves in being an organisation that promotes accessibility and consultation,” Khosa said.
He added the new payment method allowed NSFAS to “have full sight of funds disbursed to students”.
Khosa said they opted for this option because of prevalent fraudulent activities targeted at NSFAS beneficiaries.
He added the new system avoided paying incorrect amounts, such as the “classic case” where R14 million was paid to a student at Walter Sisulu University.
Khosa dismissed as factually incorrect social media speculation that said the new system had disbursed incorrect amounts and there were charges related to logging onto the new app to access a student’s account details or additional costs when making withdrawals at retail stores.
“The system is secured by the banking environment security laws and regulations.
“The system offers students banking freedom through a physical card and virtual card that enable students to withdraw cash at any ATM and point of sale, transact without limitations to certain retailers, and perform EFT and online transactions,” he said.
Khosa added the new card worked the same as a normal bank account, with all the security features of a bank card offered by retail banks.
“We do note that some students have been unable to authenticate themselves due to connectivity issues and NSFAS has sent teams to campuses to assist students with their authentication and verification process.
“We have also noted that closer to payment dates, the system experiences technical glitches caused by high internet traffic due to students registering at the same time, ” he said.
A NSFAS statement said a total of R608.6 million was paid to beneficiaries enrolled at universities while R383.6 million was paid to TVET colleges.
Khosa added:
He attributed this to “data integration with institutions and system glitches caused by too many students/traffic seeking to register onto the system at the same time”.
Khosa said 45 927 students were recently defunded because they provided correct parental relationships in their first application attempt.
However, he added, when they were rejected because of the parents’ financial status, they reapplied with different “parental relationships”.
Khosa said a re-evaluation process picked up the original information previously submitted.
“And after re-evaluation funding was reinstated for 14 703 students, 31 224 remained unsuccessful, with most first-time entering students having a household income of more than R350 000 and returning students either not meeting the required academic progression, which is 50% of all registered modules or exceeding the N+ rule.”
He added those who were rejected were given another chance to appeal.
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