Alleged delayed accommodation payments by NSFAS leave students at risk of eviction

JOHANNESBURG - Alleged delays in payments for accommodation by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) have left Tshwane North TVET College students at the risk of being stranded, with many saying they have received eviction notices.

Some students say they have been threatened that access to their dormitories will be denied at the CBD residence in Pretoria if they fail to pay rent.

However, the private accommodation facility has denied the students’ claims.  

Last month, students from the TVET college received R13,000 from NSFAS after not getting their allowance since the academic year began.

The students say they had used this money before getting communication from the scheme that stated that the money allocated to some of them was for rent.

When they were made aware of this, an agreement was reached to pay off their accommodation fees from their allowances.

However, according to WhatsApp messages seen by Eyewitness News, specific students were called by the residence to account for their non-payment.

The Student Representative Council's chairperson, Amukelani Mavasa, said, “Now, CBD residency, all the managers, Riverside, TSB, and foundation, they forced the students to come and pay with that R5,100 that they received from NSFAS. And they demanded starting from R1,700. They did not ask students nicely. They forcefully said to the students, You must pay. And if you don't pay, you're going to get evicted.”

Eyewitness News has reached out to NSFAS but did not receive a respo