The Economic Freedom Fighters Youth Command ( EFFYC) marched to the offices of the Department of Higher Education and Training on April 13 with a memorandum of demands, seeking answers from the DHET regarding the delayed payment of student allowances from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges (TVET) Occupational Students assembled outside DHET offices to present their memorandum of demands and hear the department’s responses.
According to Sakhile Masemula, the Convenor of the EFFYC in Tswhane, “we have tried to communicate with the department various times throughout emails and other forms of communication channels, but we never received replies from the department”.
The peaceful demonstration in the streets of Pretoria CBD to the DHET office was to get answers on why the students have not received their allowance, despite being fully registered and some of them having been at their Residence for 4 months since January, patiently waiting for their allowance.
The memorandum of demand by the EFFYC outlined concerns regarding delays in NSFAS funding and the exclusion of students in occasional programs from receiving allowances.
In the memorandum read out by Takalani Nkuni, the Deputy Secretary General (DSG) of Pretoria West Campus, it also stated that “students enrolled in engineering 191 occupational programmes, from the March 2025 to January 2026 intakes, have experienced delays in receiving their NSFAS allowance due to a system-related cycle mismatch during the registration process.”
Despite TVET institutions having a large number of fully registered and enrolled students, “only a few are ever able to get employment after receiving their qualification, despite being the one institution that offers more practical courses in comparison to other universities,” added Sakhile Masemula, the EFFYC student convenor.
Outside the offices of DHET, the Director for Students Development and Support of TVET, Mr Richard Mediroe, listened to the students’ demands and questions and signed the memorandum as requested. After signing, the Director said, “Having looked at the issues that students are raising, we will want NSFAS to give us an indication of when the students are likely to be paid.”
The Department of Higher Education and Training planned to engage with TVET colleges, NSFAS, and student leaders in a closed meeting to address all issues raised by students. The students were informed of the administrative steps that would be taken and advised that they would be notified within three days about the detailed process for receiving their allowances.
