NSFAS is facing renewed scrutiny as governance failures and funding delays continue to disrupt student access to accommodation and financial support. University SRCs have intensified pressure on the department, demanding urgent action on the accommodation cap, housing regulation, and 2026 allowance rates.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is under scrutiny, again. The state bursary scheme has been placed under administration two times in just three (3) years. From effective governance to disbursement of funds failures have been highlighted both in 2024 by former minister Dr. Blade Nzimnde and the incumbent minister, Buti Manamela.

On July 20th, the University Student Representatives Council’s (SRC’s) of Wits University, University of Johannesburg (UJ), University of Cape Town (UCT), and Stellenbosch University (SU) prompted a joint statement on “the ongoing exploitation of students through exorbitant accomodation costs and the destructive NSFAS cap.” The joint statement has grown in endorsements from university SRC’s of University of Fort Hare (UFH), Tshwane University Technology (TUT) , iYunivesithi Walter Sisulu (iWSU), University of Venda (UNIVEN), Sol Plaatje University (SPU),and Nelson Mandela University (NMU).

These university SRC’s have demanded the following immediate actions:

1. The immediate and complete removal of the NSFAS accomodation cap.
2. Immediate action taken by the DHET and the Competition Commision to regulate the pricing of student accomodation access both public and private sectors.
3. Immediate announcement of 2026 NSFAS (meal and rental allowance) rates.

In February 2023, NSFAS announced an accomodation cap of R45 000 annually basing it on the three tier outcome of a World Bank/IFC “Market Assessment: The Student Housing Landscape in South Africa” study. In that statement, NSFAS stated that it was “mulling over reporting student accommodation providers to the Competition Commission for possible collusion and price gouging”. This is after many university students at the University of Pretoria (UP), Wits University, UCT, and SU were left homeless after exobitant student accomodation rental price increases.

The joint SRC’s statement emerges as a response to the unaccounted for consequences of such a student accomodation cap set by NSFAS. The statement argues that the cap is “fundamentally flawed” citing reasons of failure “to consider the huge difference that exists between rental rates and the difference in the number of bed priced below the cap …”. It further argues that “the Metro Non-Metro classification system is illogical.”

Moreover, the statement outlines the shortfall of this cap to include:

 – Withheld certificates and blocked registrations for further studies because of the debt created by the NSFAS cap in private accomodation provider top-up fees.

 – Constant clashes between landlords and students over top-up fees and living conditions, all emanating from the NSFAS cap.

The Portfolio on Higher Education and Training has defended the NSFAS student accomodation cap as a responsible move, and plans on a National colloquium on student housing in August.

The student accomodation crisis is not new with the 2023 NSFAS set cap, every academic year students pack their bags leaving their home without guarantee of getting a bed. The consequence of such is sleeping outside the housing offices of the University holding the hope of securing a bed.

–MediaHouse150 Editorial