Bid to boost student funding
More than 1.5 million have benefited from the scheme since it began in 1991
THE government is tightening the law to help thousands of students who fall through the cracks of the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to be absorbed into the scheme.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana told delegates in a speech, delivered on his behalf by a senior official in the department in the city yesterday, that the demand for funding has forced the government to look at other ways to assist students.
Manana said the department was working with the National Treasury and other departments on how to increase funding for students. This would result in a new law on student funding in 2017.
The deputy minister admitted that the demand for NSFAS funding far outstrips the money available in the budget.
The number of students on NSFAS has increased from 7 200 in 1991, when government started the programme, to more than 200 000 this year.
This has seen phenomenal growth in the budget, with the funding standing at R441 million in 1999 to R3.2 billion in 2010, and a staggering R9.5bn this year.
Manana called for co-operation among all stakeholders to ensure effective management of the NSFAS programme.
There were more than 1.5 million students who benefited from the scheme since its inception in 1991.
The demand for these funds continues to grow every year, he said.
One of the key elements of the country’s blueprint, the National Development Plan, was that students who qualify for NSFAS must get funding, said Manana.
This objective is in line with the government’s target of having 1.5 million students at tertiary institutions by 2030. The number of students at tertiary institutions stands at 900 000 in the country.
But the plans are not without challenges. Some of the students who demand to get into higher education every year have been embroiled in controversy; with overcrowding and stampedes at registration sites.
This led to the government to introduce a centralised application system, to prevent further such eventualities.