IN the rainy weather on a Monday morning, 8 April, South West Gauteng College (SWGC) students closed all school entrances at the Roodepoort campus, boycotting exams.
They say they won't write until they're funded.
Students told Daily Sun they haven’t received allowances, chased out of residences and had run out of options in addressing the matter.
They burnt tyres at the school gate to vent their frustration.
They claimed they haven’t received allowances as promised by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas).
“We've been waiting for our funds to come through since the beginning of the year. We were told we would receive our funds beginning of March, and this hasn’t happened. Nothing will happen on campus until we're taken seriously as TVET students,” angry students lamented.
A student, Ziyanda Nkosi, told Daily Sun people are resorting to the worst of things, such as selling their souls for money.
“As young as we are, some are resorting to prostitution. We borrow money from abomashonisa, all in the name of wanting to be able to pay for our student accommodation.
“We won’t write any test until we receive payment. No one will attend. We're all here to receive education, which we're currently being denied,” Ziyanda said.
Didimalang Jula said she hasn’t been funded for the past two years, and this will be her third year.
“I've been waiting for Nsfas to process my funds. I can’t come to school as often as I want to because of financial challenges,” she explained.
Didimalang further said she sells snacks to have taxi fare to and from school.
However, she can't attend classes daily since she doesn’t make enough money from her business.
“I've called [Nsfas offices] countless times, and I’m told my funding is there. Till this day, I haven't received a cent. This is my last year. If I don’t finish, I don’t know what will happen to me,” she added.
Students said they don't have money to go to school and that hunger has become their close friend.
Meanwhile, Nsfas has issued a directive that the process of the payment of allowances to TVET colleges commenced on 6 March 2024.
