Every year, the commencement of the academic calendar is marked by protests across South African universities, with students voicing their recurring concerns over funding and inflated costs associated with the pursuit of tertiary education. In February, these issues were once again raised during a TuksFM interview with the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube, after her annual oversight visit to institutions of higher learning, including the University of Pretoria.
During the radio interview, Dr Dube-Ncube said that the purpose of these oversight visits is assessing institutional readiness. In response to whether her department had worked proactively in addressing the issues that have plagued students, Dr Dube-Ncube responded affirmatively and raised a few pertinent points. Upon request, the Office of the Deputy Minister swiftly furnished an email response, further supplementing information regarding the following:
Institutional Readiness
The DHET, in collaboration with Universities South Africa (USAf), developed a monitoring tool that collects information on registration-related matters. This tool then compiles a comprehensive document from gathered data regarding applications received, available spaces for first-time entering students (FTENs), registration dates (including any extensions), and student accommodation matters such as allocation processes and the provision of interim or transitional accommodation.
Registration Processes
While registration is primarily online, the university provides physical support for students requiring assistance. UP had attracted a sufficient number of applicants for most of its academic programmes, receiving a staggering 48 444 applications from FTENs with only 9 720 available spaces. However, the university opened late applications for any programmes that had not attracted an adequate number of applications.
Student Accommodation
Students are placed in residences prior to the commencement of lectures. The allocation process remains an ongoing effort throughout the academic year aimed at effectively addressing students’ needs.
Funding Status
Regarding NSFAS, universities had received lists of eligible students and funding dispersal was reportedly in its final stages by early February. However, uncertainty still remained regarding only 50 students who were classified as “loan students” and the potential of being either defunded or rejected by NSFAS. Both FTENs and returning students have a right of appeal should they be aggrieved regarding their funding outcome. Additionally, UP provides financial aid to academically deserving but unfunded students through bursaries and loan schemes.
According to the DHET, UP was fully prepared to begin the academic year and had implemented the suggested plans and procedures. However, on 9 March, these exact same issues culminated in an EFFYC-led student protest. Although the scale of the protest was strategically limited by private student accommodations restricting entry and exit onto their premises, the impact was still significantly felt.
The demonstration prompted the following immediate responses: private student accommodations, as accredited by and agreed upon with NSFAS, refunded and ceased charging NSFAS-funded students deposits, administrative fees, and other non-rental related amounts. Additionally, in engagements with the SSC Finance Office, lease approvals are set to be accelerated so that students can receive their meal allowances to purchase meals and groceries.
Despite all of these interventions, a lingering disconnect exists between the key role players responsible for ensuring student support. The miscommunication and lack of transparency, illustrated by the undefined deadlines or documents containing benchmarks and plans of action published for public scrutiny, created difficulty in determining which entity should be held accountable for the administrative and financial frustrations faced by students. This reinforces the need for more co-ordinated communication between the DHET, universities, NSFAS, or any other funding schemes, but most importantly, it must be efficiently communicated to students.
Source: Department of Higher Education Facebook
