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| ©Loyiso Dyongman/GroundUp |
Students complain about the delay in payment of NSFAS allowance.
East Cape Midlands College's Graaff-Reinet campus was shuttered on Monday as students protested the late payment of their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances.
Exams were due to begin on campus on Friday. However, demonstrations disrupted the exams. Students who were already in their classes joined the demonstration. On Monday, students sat outside the college gates, supervised by a few police officers.
Anelisiwe Mato stated that she takes a cab to university and is in severe need of funds for transportation. Mato lives at home with her mother, who is unemployed and relies on the R350 SRD subsidy. She can't support Andiswa with that money because it's barely enough for her and her younger sister.
Sinokuhle Nobebe, an SRC member, said she shares a room with another student who is struggling to pay rent. She stated that she must now purchase meals for both of them.
Tsholofelo Zweni, a spokesman for NSFAS, stated that they had not received any formal information regarding the demonstration at the Graaff-Reinet campus.
However, we have confirmed with the main campus that there was a strike on Tuesday, 18 April. NSFAS is working with the college to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. NSFAS pays colleges based on registration data received for NSFAS qualifying students and since the year has started, NSFAS has already made three payments of college student allowances.
College Student Support Services Manager Sive Gumenge stated that students would not be eligible for allowances until they were confirmed as supported by NFSAS and confirmation of registration was provided.
SOURCE: GroundUp
