A CPUT student carries their belongings during the university's accommodation crisis earlier this year, when concerns over funding and placements left many students stranded.
Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has defended the controversial National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) accommodation cap and announced plans to convene a national colloquium on student housing next month, as student representative councils (SRCs) from 10 universities intensify calls for the funding limit to be scrapped.
The latest clash comes after the SRCs of the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Stellenbosch University issued a joint statement on Tuesday, July 21, calling for the immediate removal of the NSFAS accommodation cap.
By Wednesday, six more universities, namely, the University of Fort Hare, Tshwane University of Technology, Walter Sisulu University, the University of Venda, Sol Plaatje University and Nelson Mandela University – had endorsed the statement, bringing the total to 10 institutions.
The student leaders said the lack of regulation of accommodation pricing had created an "unsustainable environment" for poor and working-class students, resulting in accommodation debt, threats of eviction, registration barriers and delayed academic progression. They called for the immediate removal of the cap, regulation of student accommodation prices, and the urgent announcement of the 2026 NSFAS accommodation rates.
