The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education was left unimpressed by the presentations of the four service providers contracted by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) about operational challenges which led to the failure to disburse student allowances.
The fintech companies Tenet Technology, eZaga Holdings, Noracco Corporation and Coinvest Africa were hauled before the committee where they made virtual presentations on Thursday.
Tenet Technology project executive Ryan Passmore said they had 181 054 students on board at 13 TVET colleges and six universities.
“Delayed NSFAS beneficiary funding approval placed a strain on Tenet’s support centre and operational teams.
The reason for the strain on resources is because students call and visit Tenet for updates on their funding statuses,” said Passmore.
Coinvest Africa’s project manager Thami Mazibuko said they had 120 354 students at TVET and onboarded all of them, and 147 669 at universities, some of whom were yet to be onboarded.
“All disbursements that have been sent to us by NSFAS were all processed successfully.
“There was a failure by NSFAS to pay all students who have onboarded. There is continued engagement with NSFAS on issues related to them which are affecting us on the ground,” said Mazibuko.
EZaga Holdings is responsible for 115 466 students at six universities, and 27 849 students from11 TVET colleges.
Noracco Corporation was allocated seven universities and 13 colleges; its presentation had no details about the number of students or how many had yet to be paid.
NSFAS acting CEO Masile Ramorwesi said that in efforts to deal with direct payment challenges they have formed two teams that visited some institutions, and had reported directly to him.
“The distribution of bank cards has been prioritised, with partners going to campuses. It was delayed as some student leaders had disrupted the distribution at some universities by vandalising the cards and threatening the teams that were on the ground, and chasing them out of the universities.
“NSFAS will send out servicing administrators, together with resources from the partners to assist with student queries, KYC and the distribution of cards during October so that challenges are resolved before the exam period. NSFAS would like the exam period to be as seamless as can be, so that students are not stressed by issues regarding their allowances,” he said.
MPs and committee chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa requested NSFAS to furnish them with responses to their questions by the end of this week.
“We request a breakdown on disbursement per institution, those who have been paid and those awaiting payment. We need a proper financial literacy plan. The report is to be sent in writing within the next working seven days,” Mkhatshwa said.
Cape Times