By: Sandile Lukhozi

The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Vice Chancellor, Professor Ahmed Bawa, believes that shortage of students funding at tertiary institutions in South

Africa will continue to happen unless another strategy is established and implemented immediately.

Bawa was responding to the student protest that took place earlier this week.

The students are demanding financial support for their tutition of National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Bawa believes that time have arrived where people need to accept that there is not enough funding for students who wish to study at tertiary institutions.

“It seems to me that we have to begin to understand that there will not be enough funding for students who wish to study unless there is a large change in the
performance of our economy,” Bawa said.

He added that the question of student funding has to be posed to NSFAS, Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the National Treasury.

“NSFAS is constrained by the amount of money it receives for the financial aid scheme which is determined by the DHET and the National Treasury,” Bawa

explained.

Sicelo Mndebele, the president of an African National Congress (ANC) aligned students’ command known as South African Student Congress (SASCO) at DUT,
said that they have submitted a memorandum containing their key demands to the vice chancellor and NSFAS funding was at the top of the memorandum.

“Our main demand as SASCO is that NSFAS funding should be accessible to all students who are in need,” Mndebele said.

Siyanda Shange, a first year Language Practice student at the university said that he sometimes feels that there is corruption happening within the NSFAS offices of the
university.

“I sometimes feel that there is corruption happening because I am a student who deserves NSFAS because I come from a financially disadvantaged family, yet I am
still in doubt about my future,” Shange said.