Cassim warns Services SETA funding at risk after bursary administration delays

Deputy Higher Education and Training Minister Yusuf Cassim has warned that poor administration of student bursaries could jeopardise future SETA funding after delays left dozens of students at Ekurhuleni East TVET College (EEC) waiting for payments and equipment.

Oversight visit and warning

Cassim raised his concerns during an oversight visit to EEC’s Kwa-Thema campus, where he received an update on Services SETA bursary administration.

“It is important that we manage these bursaries properly, so that Setas and other entities do not withdraw funding because of our administrative challenges,”

he said.

Where the processing stands

Services SETA had allocated bursaries worth R15.6 million for 200 students at EEC. A total of 195 students applied for funding; following internal screening the college submitted 162 students as qualifying to Services SETA and its implementing agent, the South African Public Colleges Organisation (Sapco).

Of those 162, 145 students had their tuition fees processed in September. The college reported that the remaining 17 students were still being processed and committed to completing those cases within seven days.

Separately, 33 applicants either did not meet the bursary criteria or had failed to submit required documents; students with incomplete documentation may submit outstanding documents for reassessment, subject to the applicable process.

Allowances, textbooks and laptops

The college reported that R1.98 million in outstanding allowances was paid to 132 students during September. It said 30 allowance cases remained unprocessed because of banking or documentation issues; the college’s finance team was working with affected students and the student representative council to resolve the outstanding cases and committed to finalising them by 9 October.

The college said textbooks have been provided to all Services SETA-funded students. It also committed to delivering laptops by mid-October, after expediting its procurement process following Cassim’s intervention.

Follow-up and wider administration concerns

Cassim had first engaged Services SETA on 3 September to seek a detailed update on bursary administration and whether qualifying students were receiving the full benefits attached to their funding. He said students should not have to wait well into the academic year to receive bursary benefits.

The oversight engagement also raised delays in issuing National N-Diploma and NCV Level 4 certificates. Cassim, through the office of the deputy director-general for TVET colleges, Sam Zungu, will request a report from the Department’s National Examination and Assessment Directorate on the certificate delays; the report will include a turnaround plan to speed up processing and resolution of outstanding certificate cases.

What Cassim called for

Cassim said the department needed to address administrative problems across the system to ensure students receive the funding and qualifications they are entitled to.

“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,”

he said.