The DA led student representative council at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, says it has introduced pioneering student finance initiatives at NMMU.
SRC president, Yusuf Carim, who is also the chairprson of the DA Students Organisation, introduced the initiatives to the media today along with DA Youth Leader, Mbali Ntuli.
He says the first pioneering initiatve relates to a national student aid scheme debt clearance agreement; the creation of a student bail-out fund of some 600-thousand rand and an increase in the meal allowance from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
Carim says the debt clearance initiative is a first at NMMU and also at any tertiary institution.
Read the full statement below:
1. NSFAS Debt Clearance Agreement
The DASO-led SRC have successfully negotiated with management to pay the full outstanding debt of all financially needy and academically deserving students with a debt of over R1 500 who are National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) beneficiaries or who hold a bursary for 2012 through the Financial Aid Office.
This is unprecedented for NMMU and is designed to address the problem of financially needy but academically deserving students being excluded and prevented from continuing their studies. Financially needy students are those deemed to have a zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as per the NSFAS criterion. All amounts of students' debt will be covered, except those originating from unnecessary expenditure such as society membership fees, gym fees and library fines.
2. SRC Bailout Fund
The DASO-led SRC at NMMU have created an SRC Bailout Fund to the value of R600 000 which ensures that financially needy students with outstanding debts of under R1 500, who are therefore not liable for assistance under the Debt Clearance Agreement, will not be prevented from studying further. The fund is made up of R300 000 from the SRC budget and a further R300 000 contribution from university management, with the potential of additional sponsors also coming on board.
This fund will assist those financially needy and academically deserving students who have an outstanding debt to the institution but do not have NSFAS coverage. To access this fund, students falling into the above categories must submit an appeal letter detailing their outstanding debt, proof that they have applied late for NSFAS or have applied for the second semester, and a motivation with some form of evidence indicating how they would cover their registration fees for 2012.
3. NSFAS Meal Allowance
The DASO-led SRC has also negotiated a R1 000 increase in the NSFAS meal allocation for on-campus students, leading to a greater quality of life for those reliant on this NSFAS food grant for sustenance. Qualifying students will now receive R9 000 per anum for food, up from R8 000.
