Students were told during the July recess not to return to their residences because Nsfas accommodation payments had not been received
Picture: Supplied
More than 60 students who were evicted from their residences linked to Western TVET College (WestCol) will be placed in new Nsfas-accredited accommodation by the end of next week following intervention by Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Yusuf Cassim.
Cassim announced the intervention after conducting an oversight visit to the WestCol Krugersdorp West Campus on Wednesday, 29 July, following reports that students had been left without accommodation after payments to a private accommodation provider were delayed.
The visit followed complaints received through the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk.
More than 60 students displaced
According to the Department of Higher Education and Training, students from the Krugersdorp Central and Krugersdorp West campuses were told during the July recess not to return to their residences because Nsfas accommodation payments had not been received since the start of the academic year.
The payment dispute between Nsfas and the accommodation provider resulted in more than 60 students being displaced, causing them to miss classes and experience severe hardship.
During the oversight visit, Cassim was accompanied by three Nsfas student accommodation officials and representatives from the department’s TVET branch.
The department said the Deputy Minister’s office contacted the college after receiving the reports and arranged temporary accommodation for about 62 affected students.
Complaints over accommodation conditions
The evictions came after students had already raised concerns about the quality of the accommodation.
According to the department, complaints included unreliable transport between the residence and the campuses, located about 13km away, as well as intermittent water and electricity supply and other poor living conditions.
The Student Representative Council (SRC) has now been tasked with compiling and submitting a list of accommodation facilities that do not meet acceptable living standards for urgent attention by Nsfas.
Nsfas outlines action plan
The department said Nsfas acknowledged that accommodation payments to the private provider had been inconsistent during 2026, leading to the students’ eviction.
Following Cassim’s intervention, Nsfas paid all outstanding amounts owed to the accommodation provider.
As part of the agreed action plan:
- All 62 students in temporary accommodation will be moved into new Nsfas-accredited accommodation by the end of next week.
- Nsfas will deploy a dedicated student accommodation team to WestCol to address outstanding challenges and resolve administrative bottlenecks, including the dispute over metro and non-metro accommodation rates with solution partners.
- Nsfas will establish a direct escalation channel with the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk to fast-track future student accommodation issues.
Deputy minister vows accountability
Cassim said the department would continue monitoring the implementation of the agreed interventions to ensure students are not affected again.
“No student should lose academic time or be left without shelter because of administrative failures. I will continue to hold all parties accountable and will closely monitor implementation of the agreed timelines,” said Cassim.
The department said the intervention aims to restore stable accommodation for the affected students while addressing broader administrative challenges relating to student housing at the college.
