DA wants to completely modify NSFAS model should it triumph after 2024 polls
In its manifesto, the official opposition proposed students repay a portion of the funds disbursed by NSFAS for their studies to overcome the current model’s monetary shortfalls.
The NSFAS logo. Picture: @myNSFAS/Twitter
JOHANNESBURG - One of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) aspirations, should it emerge victorious following 2024's election, is to completely modify the National Student Financial Aid Scheme's (NSFAS) model.
The party's manifesto, which was launched in Pretoria at the weekend, highlighted monetary shortfalls within the student funding scheme.
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The official opposition party wants students to pay back a portion of funds disbursed by NSFAS for their studies.
Currently, students funded by the scheme after 2018 are not required to repay the money.
In January, African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa faced backlash from opposition parties after he insisted NSFAS could disappear if his party lost power.
While the DA isn't opposed and has no plans to scrap the scheme, it believes its current format is unsustainable.
The party's manifesto proposes a debt collection system whereby students will repay the funds depending on affordability.
Political analyst, Dirk Kotze, said this would be the safest way to save the crumbling financial aid scheme.
"We must look at what other political parties are saying as possible models for student funding."