Question NW2718 to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation
17 October 2023 - NW2718
King, Ms C to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation
(1)In light of the fact that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) direct payment system was scheduled to be operational from July 2023, (a) on what date was each university and technical, vocational education and training (TVET) college informed to get onboard, (b) what total number of universities and TVET colleges were able to onboard and (c) what total number of students have been on board by 30 July 2023; (2) what challenges have been experienced by students after getting on boarding on the NSFAS direct payment system; (3) what total number of NSFAS beneficiaries at (a) universities and (b) TVET colleges (i) passed, (ii) failed and (iii) dropped out in 2022?
Reply:
UNIVERSITY
1)
a) Rule 7.3.2 of the 2023 NSFAS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND CONDITIONS FOR FINANCIAL AID was shared with all the 26 Universities in December 2022, it stated that NSFAS will make allowance for a minimum of 3 months’ notice to institutions where it intends to take over full payment of allowances.
Subsequently, a Notice was issued by the NSFAS on 03 March 2023, informing universities that starting from 01 June 2023, NSFAS will assume responsibility for disbursing allowances to its beneficiaries.
An additional Notice was issued on 26 May 2023 clarifying that the first direct payment will take place on the last day of June 2023. It further clarified that institutions should continue to process June allowances to students.
(b) As of the end of June 2023, a total of 24 universities were successfully onboarded and their students received their July 2023 allowance payments through the direct payments. Two universities, Stellenbosch University and Northwest University, have yet to disburse the allowances for the month of July 2023. These two universities joined the direct payment program towards the end of July 2023, and released August 2023 allowances.
(c) As of 30 July 2023, the total number of KYC complete students is 316 741.
2)
|
Challenges |
Definition |
Action required |
|
Cyber Attack |
Instances of cyber-attacks threaten student accounts and system integrity. |
Partners will implement robust cybersecurity measures, safeguarding against cyber threats and unauthorized access and ensuring student security. |
|
Transition Resistance |
Resistance from institutions, students and student leadership to adopt the new payment system. |
Continue to engage stakeholders, address concerns, and highlight system benefits to foster smoother transitions and wider acceptance. |
|
Inaccurate Claims/ Registration data |
Incorrect allowances were paid due to inaccurate registration data received from the institutions. |
NSFAS opened the adjustment window to allow institutions to correct their registration data. |
|
Students say the direct payment charges are excessive. |
Students are paid directly to their accounts and charged for withdrawals and services. |
NSFAS and students negotiated a reduction from R89 to R12. Further engagements will commence. |
TVET COLLEGE
1)
a) The direct payment process was introduced at TVET colleges in the last quarter of 2022, with the first payment made in November 2022. The 2023 academic year saw a continuation and improvement in the process. Because students at the 44 colleges were already being paid their allowances directly by NSFAS through the NSFAS Wallet, transition to the direct payment process was gradual with the 6 remaining Western Cape colleges receiving money from NSFAS and paying it over themselves to students.
b) To date all 50 TVET Colleges are onboarded on the direct payment method of payment.
c) There are 187 180 students KYC complaint in the TVET sector, meaning are fully registered to access their allowances.
2)
|
Challenges |
Description |
Solutions |
|
Bank Card Shortage / Slow Distribution |
Direct payment project was initially implemented via virtual cards in the TVET sector. When distribution of handheld cards started around March 2023, reports of insufficient bank cards, related delays and queues arose. |
Bank cards have been made available to students and distributions are ongoing at universities. However, the multiple registration cycles in TVET sector continue to complicate logistics. |
|
Partner Dependency |
NSFAS relies on manual partner reports, causing delays and inefficiencies. Colleges also rely on manual reports being given to them by partners |
An integrated reporting module is being developed to allow for automated sharing of reports for smoother operations. |
|
Cyber Attack |
Instances of cyber-attacks threaten student accounts and system integrity and cases of alleged fraud. |
Partners are continuously being engaged to implement robust cybersecurity measures, safeguarding against cyber threats and unauthorized access, and ensuring student security. |
|
Non-responsiveness/ Delays in Query Handling |
Both students and institutions complain about not getting through to the partner call centres. Emailed queries not responded to. |
Partners are given feedback directly through bi-weekly meetings held between NSFAS, the partners and the colleges, so that they look at improving their capacity. |
|
Partner Capacity Limitations |
Long queues at card distribution points because partners do not have adequate resources to service the points. |
Partners are given feedback directly through bi-weekly meetings held between NSFAS, the partners and the colleges so that they improve their capacity. |
|
Partner/College Relationship Issues |
Some Partners commit to meetings but fail to attend, causing dissatisfaction and potential protests. |
Ensure partners attend meetings, address concerns, and foster cooperation to prevent disruptions and maintain positive relationships. |
|
NSFAS Data Remediation Impact |
Defunding and funding status changes strained the relationship between NSFAS and the stakeholders and affects integrity of the direct payment method as students are not able to differentiate between NSFAS and partner glitches. Poor systems integration has meant that Students’ NSFAS portal reflect a positive (funded) status, while NSFAS internal system reflect a negative (unfunded) student, resulting in students being turned away by the partner. |
NSFAS is working extensively at gaining student confidence through proper working and integrated systems and integration between student portal and internal system. |
|
Registration Template Errors |
Errors in registration templates lead to processing delays and blocking of allowances until correction requests from institutions are implemented. |
System enhancements are being developed to put in place technology-driven mechanisms to identify and rectify incorrect allowance claims. |
|
Students say the direct payment charges are excessive. |
Students find direct payment charges excessive and are lobbying for a fee structure review. |
Fee structure review will start with further engagements. |
|
Underage Students' Onboarding process |
There has been a delay in the development of a FICA compliant process to KYC underage students. |
Partners have introduced a solution for underage students. |
(3) The total number NSFAS beneficiaries who passed at universities are 390 431. The total number of NSFAS beneficiaries who failed at universities are 102 252.
The total number of NSFAS beneficiaries who passed at TVET colleges are 108 161. The total number of NSFAS beneficiaries who failed at TVET colleges are 90 779.
On the question of number of students who dropped out, NSFAS will be working in conjunction with institutions to finalize this number.