Muggings and landlords asking for sex in return for accommodation are some of the hardships faced by scores of students due to delays by the National
Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to pay for their tuition and accommodation.
“The situation is more dire for female students. Some unscrupulous landlords are beginning to ask for sexual favours in return for accommodation.
“I was a victim of that, but I refused because despite being desperate I will never sell my soul,” said Nosipho Mntambo a student at the eThekwini TVET College in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mntambo and other students have faced the wrath of landlords. “We have been sleeping outside the campus. Some students are able to put whatever money they have to rent out cheap accommodation while awaiting a response from the college. It’s not even proper accommodation but shacks made out of zinc. They tread danger every day as students are soft targets for thugs,” she lamented.
Mzomuhle Zungu, a student leader at the uMfolozi TVET College eSikhawini campus in Richards Bay said the situation was severe “They are mugged daily,” he said.
Dineo Nyakane, a 21-year-old student from Violet Bank, Bushbuckridge, has spent the past week making the 200km return trip daily to the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) in Mbombela. Despite securing NSFAS funding this year, she has been blocked from registering due to outstanding debt from 2024.
Nyakane, who lives with her grandmother, says they have no money to clear the R14 000 the university is demanding before she can register for her diploma in ICT. “I don’t know what to do.”
Karabo Mashego, 22, also from Violet Bank, a final year Bachelor of Administration student at UMP has had her NSFAS application rejected without explanation. Mashego had initially been approved for funding in 2024 but the money only reflected in December – after the academic year ended.
“It was a stressful year. Luckily, I had secured accommodation in Msholozi, near Mbombela. The landlord was understanding but there were times when my relatives had to scrape together money to appease her.”
Her accommodation last year cost R3 500 per month, but without funding, she has no means to afford it this year. This year, she managed to scrape together the R5 800 registration fee just days before the February 14 deadline.
On Monday, Mosibudi Moseamo, an engineering student at Capricorn TVET College’s Seshego campus, was met with a cold reception from her landlord. “My landlord told me to return when I have money.”
She managed to convince the landlord to let her stay for two days but she was mugged on the days she was supposed to pay rent.
“They robbed me of my cellular phone and the money I was supposed to pay the landlord.”
