Thousands of SA students won't graduate due to outstanding fees
Thousands of students in South Africa will not be graduating as they are behind on their tuition fees.
It is graduation season in South Africa.
As many students will be celebrating their academic achievements, some will unfortunately not be able to graduate.
This is because many South African students owe outstanding fees to their tertiary institutions.
Unfortunately, many rely on debt to cover their basic needs, including getting an education.
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Although some government schools offer free education to learners who cannot afford to pay school fees, unfortunately, when it comes to higher education, the country doesn't currently offer free higher education.
As a result, many students have to rely on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas), a government student financial aid scheme given to students who cannot afford the cost of tertiary education. Sadly, not everyone gets offered Nsfas support and others have to apply to banks to get funding.
Owing fees to the institution of higher learning can sometimes affect whether a student can graduate.
In other institutions, students who owe fees cannot even access their results.
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande recently revealed that 562,799 scholars have billions in unpaid student debt in South Africa and 156,016 are not going to graduate or receive academic certificates at all, according to The Citizen.
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