By Thapelo Matlala
Dozens of Rhodes University students are in a desperate situation after not receiving their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances since June this year.
NSFAS is currently in the hot seat nationally for outsourcing the payment of monthly student allowances to financial intermediaries who have not maintained the payments efficiently since they took over on 1 July. Students have protested in Eastern Cape, Cape Town, Free State, Durban, and Tshwane against being cut off by NSFAS and left without money to survive. Dozens of students across the country have been arrested during the protests.
At Rhodes University, the private financial intermediary, Coinvest, is now in charge of paying allowances. But students whose funds were cut off without warning say they have been subjected to intense hardship and suffering and exposed to uncalled-for vulnerability.
Grocott’s Mail received an influx of disheartening stories, and students came forward in numbers to say they had received no funds since Coinvest took over. Great Obasi, an on-campus student, said, “I come from a poor family. My parents can barely help me”. Obasi said she needed to buy toiletries and whispered to this journalist, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you that I didn’t put on any roll-on today”. Obasi said she cannot even purchase iron supplements for her iron deficiency, which causes her to suffer from heart palpitations.
Student Magrieta Makua said she felt sad and disappointed that her parents had to help her out because NSFAS had cut off her allowance. “It’s tough, but there is nothing we can do other than hang in there,” Makua said.
Another on-campus student who preferred not to be named said she was only getting R300 from NSFAS and could not afford sanitary pads. “I had to go to Division of Student Affairs officers to request sanitary towels. This is a deep inconvenience because I haven’t received my living allowance for three months starting from June to now,” she said.
Student Zandile Mthethwa, who resides off campus, explained that she received a R1650 living allowance but hadn’t received her off-campus allowance, yet she is supposed to pay R3500 rent every month. “This is unfair because I have to buy groceries and electricity. Obviously, not having enough money, I had to use my savings and ask my parents, who also cannot afford to pay for my stuff”.
Mthethwa added that her groceries run out in the middle of the month, and she can’t even buy more because she is trying to save money for the next month’s rent. Mthethwa said she went to the RU Financial Aid office to find out when she would receive her allowance but was told that they would communicate with Coinvest. She adds that she is not going to blame the Financial Aid office because it is not their fault either.
Student Asonwabise Ngqele said she was thankful to her friends who are assisting her because, without them, she had no idea how she would have survived. She mentioned that at her home, her family is in a financial crisis, and there is no way they could help her.
Another student who wished to remain anonymous said having his allowance cut off had been “a dreadful experience”. “Besides the fact that it doesn’t benefit us in any way, none of us were made aware of the changes prior to them being implemented. Many of us depend on those allowances to buy toiletries and food, and we now literally survive on dining hall meals of which the portions are just small. The fact that there’s no formal communication from the service providers updating us of the ways in which they are trying to solve these problems is just another pandemic on its own because not all of us receive allowances from back home,” he said.
Adrian February, the Oppidan Councillor on the SRC, told Grocott’s Mail he had been flooded with complaints and had approached the Rhodes University Financial Aid office in the hopes of finding answers. He added that it seems that Rhodes University’s hands are tied because NSFAS and Coinvest seem to be unwilling to be held accountable.
Speaking at a 23 August meeting at the Grand Res in Makhanda, February added that the United Student Movement (USM), of which he is the secretary, is also considering approaching Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor Sizwe Mabizela to ask for some emergency support for the students.
“We want to help these students because some of them received eviction notifications, and that has placed fear in them as they are wondering what’s going to happen next month,” February said, adding that he would communicate with the landlords, agents, and accommodation managers to be a bit understanding because the students have no other finances to pay their rent, especially those coming from impoverished backgrounds.
Grand Res manager Melinda Botha said she will not evict students because she can attest to their daily struggles, and the Coinvest debacle is no fault of the students. She told Grocott’s Mail, “The only thing that is left in me is faith. I just have faith that eventually this situation will be resolved, and surely they will be able to pay”.
A female student who had not received her allowance said she was grateful to Grand Res for being lenient with them because she knows students from other accommodation houses who were evicted and are now sleeping on campus. Another Grand Res resident, Ayanda Kheswa, explained how difficult the ordeal is, saying he cannot even begin to ask for help from home because he knows they won’t be able to help. He said he was anxious and wondered if there would ever be a resolution to the matter.
NSFAS did not respond to questions sent by Grocott’s Mail.
Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education, has set a deadline of August 30 for the NSFAS board to come up with a solution to the crisis. The NSFAS board is also currently investigating the NSFAS CEO, Andile Nongogo, for a prior business relationship with one of the financial intermediaries and for allegedly observing the bids presentations by the financial intermediaries.
