A CPUT student stands beside a pile of suitcases and bedding on a city pavement, highlighting the pressure and uncertainty facing those forced to relocate or seek temporary accommodation.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
A student at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has described what she calls a "life-threatening crisis" unfolding on campus as funding delays and a slow appeals process leave students facing eviction and possible homelessness.
Rethabile Roboro says she and several fellow students are enduring severe hardship due to delayed payments from National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which has recently come under scrutiny as landlords report mounting financial strain caused by late payments, and the burden of carrying student needs and municipal costs.
CPUT said it was not able to place every single student at the university and its priority 'are those who are academically progressing'.
"This has become the reality for actual students at CPUT," Roboro said.
She explained that she submitted her funding appeal after losing financial support, but the application has been stuck on the "submitted" status for more than three weeks.
"Many other students and I are being evicted from our accommodation places. We are currently facing the reality of sleeping on the streets of Cape Town," she said.
Roboro believes the delays and administrative backlog are infringing on fundamental rights.
"I am feeling that my rights to safety and dignity and education are actively being violated as a result of the NSFAS payment delays and the slow administrative process," she said.
"We have followed all protocols and procedures, yet we are being met with silence while our safety is at risk."
Students are now calling for an immediate moratorium on evictions to protect those who cannot afford rent due to NSFAS delays. Roboro is also appealing for the urgent processing of her funding “before a tragedy occurs” while students are living on the streets.
CPUT students are now calling for an immediate moratorium on evictions to protect those who cannot afford rent due to NSFAS delays.
Image: Lilita Gcwabe
NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said the responsibility for accommodation matters lies with the university.
“We don’t have a new response on this matter of delayed payments because it is the same as the last. CPUT deals with the allocation of students and they know which NSFAS-accredited accommodation providers they have paid and which ones they haven’t,” Mnisi said.
He added that payments were run on March 2 and that the university is responsible for distributing those funds to specific accommodations, not NSFAS.
Lauren Kansley, spokesperson for the Cape Peninsula University of Technology said that the funding appeals process was now complete and "students who are appealing had either failed numerous subjects or do not meet the NSFAS funding criteria".
"CPUT has been compassionate and placed students in temporary accommodation when they arrived with no housing confirmed. However these students are aware that they do not qualify for residence and we have explained this and they must find their own accommodation."
Kansley said NSFAS required students to pass 60% of their course load, that students were aware of this requirement and understand the consequences of failing consecutive years.
"Last week CPUT announced that it would pay students an outstanding NSFAS allowance, after the entity said that only 50% of applicable allowances would be paid to funded students. This shows that CPUT management are empathetic and understanding of the challenges students have.
"We are not, however, able to place every single student at CPUT. Our priority are those who are academically progressing."
* This story has been updated to include a comment from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
lilita.gcwabe@inl.co.za