• NSFAS has encountered a delay in paying student allowances for April at two institutions, payment partner eZaga has said.
• Students at the University of Limpopo and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) have been affected.
• This mirrors a delay in payments experienced by NSFAS last year which was caused by a “technical glitch.”

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), South Africa’s embattled public bursary provider, has experienced a delay in paying student stipends for April 2024. Every month the scheme disburses stipends to over a million tertiary students in order for them to pay tuition and living expenses, including accommodation costs and necessities.

According to eZaga, one of the four fintech companies hired by NSFAS to manage the controversial direct payment system launched in July last year, the payment disbursement delay is affecting students at the University of Limpopo and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

Both of these universities are under the purview of eZaga.

“eZaga is aware of the delay in the disbursement of your April NSFAS funds. This delay is due to an issue on the side of the NSFAS and is not related in any way to eZaga,” the company said in an emailed statement to Hypertext.

“We understand the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. Our team is closely monitoring the situation and will keep you updated on any developments,” it added.

It has not been communicated by eZaga or NSFAS if any other institution has been affected by any payment delays. However, some TVET students on social media are claiming that they have yet to be paid.

Last year in September, NSFAS also experienced a delay in student payment which it blamed on a “technical glitch.” However the delay was only of one day, which say allowances paid on 1st September and not 31st August as they were supposed to be.

At the time eZaga told Hypertext that delays in payments by NSFAS and “hiccups” with the system were due to the fact that the technology that manages student funds was “entirely novel.”

NSFAS has yet to issue any official communication about this latest payment delay. Last year, the delay led to a string of fake news being circulated in efforts to rile up people about the direct payment system.

But with eZaga looking to quickly shed blame of the problem, there could be more to this story and we will update this article with any relevant information when it becomes available.