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Students protesting on campus.
Deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning at North West University, Professor Linda du Plessis says the dysfunction within the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is negatively affecting the quality of education at the institutions of higher learning.
She says while the focus has been on how the lack of funding affects students, the implications for the institutions themselves have often been overlooked.
For years, students have had to deal with delayed funding and at times would have their funding cancelled in the middle of the academic year.
Du Plessis says the current funding model must be reviewed.
“The key is that there must be a structured model so these funding systems can be structured in a way that supports but also maintains the viable system. We have students studying at the university right now who are holders of SETA bursaries, who have to date not received any funding for this year. Now, these students need to buy books, they need to sustain themselves, they need to pay accommodation and tuition. The obvious question is, ‘where does this leave the students, but where does that leave the institution?”
