Student pleads for urgent NSFAS intervention

A STUDENT at Cape Peninsula University of Technology has described what she calls a “life-threatening crisis” unfolding on campus as funding delays and a slow appeals process leave students facing eviction and possible homelessness.

- LILITA GCWABE [e-mail]

Rethabile Roboro says she and several fellow students are enduring severe hardship due to delayed payments from National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which has recently come under scrutiny as landlords report mounting financial strain caused by late payments, and the burden of carrying student needs and municipal costs.

“This has become the reality for actual students at CPUT,” Roboro said. She explained that she submitted her funding appeal after losing financial support, but the application has been stuck on the “submitted” status for more than three weeks.