Cabinet has pledged its support to all attempts made towards making education accessible, particularly to students coming from poor families.
This comes after the announcement by Higher Education and Training Minister Naledi Pandor of the allocation of an additional R967 million to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The amount will go towards the settling of the historic debt owed to universities by 52 514 NSFAS funded continuing students.
The allocation is specifically for those who had been funded on the previous funding scheme of the NSFAS prior to the significantly improved funding support that began in 2018.
Historically, these students were required to fund part of their costs through family or own funding and were not able to do so, hence the debt.
Cabinet said it will continue to support the work that seeks to narrow the gap of inequality with our society.
“Cabinet calls on the students to continue to work with the department to find solutions to outstanding issues they still face,” Cabinet said in a statement. – SAnews.gov.za
