SAUS says NSFAS 'on the brink of total collapse'

JOHANNESBURG - South African Union of Students says the NSFAS scheme is on the brink of total collapse.

The student union is calling for urgent intervention from government.

It says NSFAS is in shambles, with thousands of students having gone months without receiving their allowances, among other issues.

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It has written to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande and has given him a deadline to respond.

"The reality is that the scheme is facing collapse, in fact in a brink of total collapse," SAUS spokesperson Asive Dlanjwa said.

"There seems to be nothing working at the scheme. The scheme has a primary mandate to fund the children of the poor and the working class: it has failed to do from month-to-month on a continuous basis."