Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Yusuf Cassim has welcomed progress made in resolving outstanding Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Services SETA) bursary payments and benefits for 162 students at the Ekurhuleni East TVET College (EEC).
This follows interventions to address delays in administering Services SETA bursaries.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Training said the Services SETA allocated bursaries for 200 students at Ekurhuleni East TVET College, to the value of R15.6 million.
“A total of 195 students applied. After internal screening, the college submitted 162 as qualifying to Services SETA and SAPCO (implementing agent). The remaining 33 applicants either did not meet the bursary criteria or had not submitted all required documents,” said the Ministry in a statement on Sunday.
Of the 162 on the college list:
- 145 were found fully compliant, and tuition fees were processed in September. A further 17 students are still in process, and the college has committed to completing this within seven days.
- The college reported that R1.98 million in outstanding allowances had been paid to 132 students in September, following the Deputy Minister’s intervention.
- A further 30 students remain unprocessed because of banking or documentation issues. The college’s finance team is working with the students and the SRC to resolve these issues, with a commitment to finalise the outstanding cases by Friday, 9 October 2026. The college and Services SETA will reconcile the outstanding cases and payment records.
- Textbooks have been provided to all Services SETA-funded students.
- Laptops remain outstanding. The college expedited the procurement process following the intervention by the Deputy Minister and has committed to delivering the laptops by mid-October.
The Technical and Vocational Education and Training(TVET) college updated Deputy Minister Cassim during an oversight visit at the Kwa-Thema Campus on Friday.
Prior to Friday’s visit, the Deputy Minister engaged with Services SETA on 3 September 2026, requesting a detailed update on the administration of its bursaries, including whether qualifying students were receiving their tuition, allowances, textbooks and laptops.
Cassim called for clear, urgent action to address outstanding tuition payments, allowances, textbooks and laptops at affected institutions, including EEC, and for the reconciliation of beneficiary records and bursary expenditure.
The Deputy Minister then followed up all these prior engagements with Friday's visit to the KwaThema campus.
The Ministry added that applicants with incomplete documentation may submit the outstanding documents for reassessment, subject to the applicable process. The college and Services SETA will communicate further on the correct process.
Delays
Other matters discussed during the engagement included delays in the issuing of National N-Diploma and National Certificate Vocational (NCV) Level 4 certificates.
It was highlighted that National N-Diploma applications, which require students to submit their N4-N6 certificates, proof of practical experience and statements of results to the department’s examinations section through their TVET college, often face significant delays.
In response, the Deputy Minister, through the office of the Deputy Director-General (DDG) for TVET colleges, Sam Zungu, will request that the Department’s National Examination and Assessment Directorate provide the Ministry with a report on the delays affecting the issuance of these outstanding certificates, together with a turnaround plan to expedite the processing and resolution of the outstanding cases.
“I would like to thank Services SETA for its continued investment in skills development and education across the PSET sector.
“It is important that we manage these bursaries properly, so that SETAs and other entities do not withdraw funding because of our administrative challenges.
“Students should not have to wait this far into the academic year to receive the full bursary benefits for which they qualify. This is a problem across the system, and we must find ways to address it. I also want to thank the college management for working constructively to address the concerns raised,” said Deputy Minister Cassim. – SAnews.gov.za
