Johannesburg - The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has convened a meeting with student leaders in a bid to stem the voices that have come out against its newly implemented direct payment system called eZaga.
The new system will see NSFAS make direct payments into students’ bank accounts using independent service providers, instead of doing it through higher learning institutions.
On Monday, however, TUT announced to stakeholders that sporadic student protests had erupted at some of its campuses as a result of the delayed payment of student allowances by the third-party financial service provider.
University spokesperson Phaphama Tshitsikhawe stressed that despite payments no longer being disbursed by the university, the institution was working closely with the affected students, their organisations, Universities South Africa (USAF) and NSFAS so as to find a speedy, viable and sustainable solution.
"At this midpoint and pivotal juncture in the academic year, the university calls upon all stakeholders to do everything in their power to safeguard the academic project."
The Campus Student Representative Council (CSRC) rejected the continued use of the eZaga online digital banking service due to its failure at the starting point to pay student meal allowances due to more than 14 000 students for the past two months, despite the academic programme being in full swing.
CSRC president Keamogetswe Masike said student leaders were of the view that the company, tasked with facilitating billions of rand to poor students, was too inexperienced to handle the task.
When contacted for comment yesterday, Slumezi Skosana, the NSFAS spokesperson, said the organisation would be engaging with student leaders on the way forward and would provide feedback following that.
Meanwhile, other student groups, including the Socialist Youth Movement, have come out against the new NSFAS banking system.
The movement said it was against the new system, and alleged that students were being charged R29 for a monthly bundle that only offered them 10 free point-of-sale swipes and three cash withdrawals. It added that the service provider also charged R2 per point-of-sale transaction and R12 per R100 for ATM withdrawals.
"The NSFAS banking system has not only imposed extortionate banking fees on vulnerable students, but also delisted a number of students from the NSFAS database, effectively excluding them from the higher education system," read the statement.
"The current NSFAS crisis serves as yet another example of how the privatisation of public services has placed the interests of an elite few above those of the poor, has obfuscated channels of accountability, and exacerbated inequality and exclusion in this country."
The South African Students Congress (Sasco) also raised concerns about the direct payment method, which it alleged was not user friendly.
According to the student organisation, many students had complained about exorbitant bank charges, which were higher than those of commercial banks, with roughly 15% of student allowances swallowed by bank charges.
While the organisation said it was not against an alternative payment method for allowances, it expected the funding scheme to use one that was convenient for students.
The Star