Question NW1847 to the Minister of Higher Education and Training
30 June 2017 - NW1847
Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training
(1)Whether the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) issues regarding the payment of allowances through the sBux system in (a) universities and/or (b) technical and vocational education and training colleges have been resolved; if not, why not; if so, (i) how were they resolved and (ii) on what date(s) were they resolved; (2) whether there are any other problems with the overall NSFAS system that still need to be addressed; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
According to information received from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS):
1. The majority of issues with the disbursement of sBux allowances to university students have been resolved. Of the 46 345 students eligible for sBux allowances, 43 037 (93%) had received their respective allowances by 30 May 2017.
NSFAS successfully addressed the main issues during the months of April and May 2017 with an intensive focus on ensuring that students sign their Loan Agreement Forms (LAFs) in addition to the introduction of weekly system audit checks to improve the processing of disbursements. The LAF signing campaign and the weekly system audit checks will continue until all eligible students have received their allowances, which will include any “top-up” allowances to compensate for months where the student may not have received all his/her allowances on time.
Delays have been experienced with the processing of Schedule of Particulars (SOPs) for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students. This is mainly due to the fact that many TVET college staff members were unfamiliar with certain aspects of the new registration system and also the lack of adequate training and support provided by the college software vendors. As a result, of the 4 882 students eligible for sBux allowances, only 2 676 (55%) had received their allowances by 30 May 2017.
The majority of disbursements to TVET college students are being processed in June and July 2017. These disbursements are dependent on registration information, which includes the allocation of allowances to students being provided by the colleges, where applicable, and the signing of SOPs by the students.
The LAFSOP signing campaign and the weekly system audit checks will ensure that disbursement of allowances to TVET college students are processed as effectively as possible.
2. Some challenges are being experienced with the overall NSFAS system and these are receiving urgent attention by a project team specifically set up to resolve all system related issues which may be delaying disbursements.
In some instances, vouchers are not disbursed due to the absence of a corresponding entry on a disbursement schedule or the non-creation of a loan account for a particular student. These issues are being dealt with by virtue of an analysis of disbursements on a daily basis, which includes the management of any “exceptions”, followed by prompt resolution of these issues.
COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:
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DIRECTOR – GENERAL
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QUESTION 1847 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED
Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP
MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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