NSFAS leaves Unisa students in the lurch
NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said oversubscription was a result of the increasing number of students qualifying for higher education, the cost of living crisis, which pushed more households into the NSFAS eligibility criteria, and declining state resources.
'The NSFAS Act prohibits overspending on the budgeted allocation,' he said.
This doesn't bring comfort to Tsotetsi, whose financial strain is personal.
'This is painful and demotivating. I don't have parents and my sister has been carrying me all this time. I also want to help her, but now I can't because I cannot complete my degree. With my degree I would have been able to start looking for work next year, but that cannot happen,' she said.
Warona Tau, a first-year tourism management student at Unisa from Boksburg on the East Rand, said she has lost hope. While the NSFAS funded her first semester, covering registration, data and textbooks, she hasn't received support for her second semester.
'Even if the NSFAS decides to pay for my five modules today, I would not be able to catch up. Many assignments are already past the submission deadline.'
Frustrated and discouraged, Tau has resigned herself to the idea that she may have to delay her studies.
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