EFF Welcomes Decision to Grant Sassa Beneficiaries Instant NSFAS Funding, Leaving Mzansi Divided

• SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) grant recipients will automatically qualify for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme funds
• The move was celebrated by the Economic Freedom Fighters who said learners would no longer have to prove their poverty
• Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande said NSFAS will release application results for first-time applicants on Monday, February 6

JOHANNESBURG - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomed the decision to automatically provide tertiary education funding for recipients of the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) grants.

The party said the move was long overdue and that it was a great victory for the betterment of the country and the lives of South Africans. Members said that learners receiving grants should never have been required to prove their poverty to qualify for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds.

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According to a statement released by the Red Berets, EFF leader Julius Malema often spoke out against the “idiotic and humiliating” process that NSFAS and high education institutions used to vet learners. It said for the past 10 years, the party advocated for synchronising the data between Sassa and the departments of home affairs, basic education and higher education.

“The children of the poor, who are predominantly young black people, participate in a yearly exercise of poverty Olympics, where they are expected to exhibit their orphan status, the fact that they are on social grants and prove that they are poor enough to receive funding,” said the EFF.

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande said NSFAS will release application results for first-time and returning students on Monday, February 6. He said over a million applications were received through the scheme’s online portal, Sunday World reported.

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Nzimande said all Sassa beneficiaries have received instant funding approval pending registration at public universities or TVET colleges. He added that the funded list for continuing students was released on Tuesday, January 24.

Mzansi reacts to EFF’s remarks

@MaganedisaTommy said:

“We fought for this since 2016. Very happy it finally happened.”

@Mrkev40 commented:

“EFF loves freebies.”

@cathu88 posted:

“Thanks President Ramaphosa. Your administration listens, cares and leads.”

@KgosiLalas wrote:

“The only visionary young movement.”

@MongezyM added:

“We are led.”

NSFAS-funded students will no longer have to pay higher education registration fees, leaving SA divided

Briefly News also reported that students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) don't have to deal with the headache of paying higher education registration fees.

This comes after the Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande announced that the financial aid scheme will be making all upfront payments to universities and TVET colleges.

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NSFAS-funded students will no longer have to pay higher education registration fees, leaving SA divided

The payments will extend beyond registration fees to include all costs relating to tuition fees and living allowances, SABC News reported.

Source: Briefly News