NSFAS news update – Many students have raised questions on whether the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) will make changes to its funding allocations as a result of South Africa’s cost-of-living crisis has worsened drastically over the last few years. More than 50,000 university students have signed a petition pushing for NSFAS to increase their monthly allowance.

This comes after recent data from Statistic South Africa revealed consumer inflation at 7.8%, which has reached the highest in 13years meaning the cost of living will soon go up.

Most students have very limited resources to cover their monthly expenses following the costs increase against fixed student allowance amounts.

The students cried out that the daily increase in prices of individual goods and services have left them unable to cover their most basic needs like groceries or toiletries. 

In June 2021, The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande appointed a Ministerial Task Team (MTT), that targets to help the Department, NSFAS and National Treasury as a part of the medium-time period finances discussions in practise for the 2022/23 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) process.

Many have wondered whether, in line with the Ministerial Task Team report, allowances for National Student Financial Aid Scheme could be improved to guide the boom in charges for items and services.

In response, Nzimande defined that the version used the inflation estimates mentioned withinside the 2022/23 MTEF Guidelines despatched out through the National Treasury.

This resulted in the shortfall for 2022/23 being addressed in the 2022/23 budget vote, with reprioritisation from across government, as well as an additional amount required from the Department’s budget.”

he adds. 

According to the MTEF, allocations to NSFAS for baseline college allocations for the 2022/23 educational 12 months stand at R37 151 442 and R1 207 665 for reprioritisation universities, bringing the college subtotal to R 38 359 107.

Nzimande says that the dialogue on whether or not allowances may be modified and improved is depending on investment to be had and predicted prices for 2023.