Companies set to score over NSFAS fiasco
The four companies contracted by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to pay allowances directly into students’ bank accounts are set to rake in millions of rands from the deal.
Fintech companies Tenet Technology, eZaga, Norraco Corporation and Coinvest Africa were awarded five-year renewable contracts to pay allowances to NSFAS beneficiaries at SA’s 26 public universities and 50 Technical Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) colleges.
NSFAS, which is funded by the Department of Higher Education, provides bursaries to students from poor and working class families.
According to the Sunday Times, the four companies will score R4.3m a month through a R12 banking fee deduction from each student’s R1 650 allowance before it is paid out.
This deduction excludes other charges such as ATM withdrawals, which will cost students R10 plus R2.50 for every R100 withdrawn.
A card replacement fee of R50 is levied for lost cards while R60 is levied for delivering it.
The four companies also charge NSFAS a fee for ‘on-boarding’ each student but the scheme refused to divulge the cost, stating it was a contractual matter between it and the partners.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
