POLOKWANE – Officials from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) conducted a successful visit to the University of Limpopo’s (UL) financial aid office on Thursday (September 15) following Wednesday’s violent protests over non-payment of off-campus allowances.
Several buildings were set alight and property vandalised including access gates to several entrances and the perimeter fence of the university.
Read more: WATCH: UL burns as students demand off-campus allowances
A student representative Khutso Mamabolo told the Polokwane Observer that students have not received their off-campus allowances for the past seven months and risk being evicted from their accommodation.
“NSFAS students who reside off campus are supposed to be catered for through an off-campus allowance in order to pay their rent. NSFAS then made a decision that the money should not go to the students themselves but to the landlords,” Mamabolo said.
UL’s executive director of marketing and communication Victor Kgomoeswana said NSFAS financial administrators found that many landlords had not complied with their stipulated lease agreement requirements which caused a delay in releasing money.
He told Observer that some students are also to blame in this regard and they are said to have been defrauding NSFAS of its money by filling in false information on the leases.
“Officials have promised to return next week in order to address the matter fully,” he said.
UL have continued with normal operations including both online and face-to-face lectures despite some students having left the campus over safety concerns.
