{
  "id": 4127340,
  "title": "Students carry the cost of Nsfas funding cap, Parliament hears",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/students-carry-the-cost-of-nsfas-funding-cap-parliament-hears",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-29T06:16:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/students-housing-nsfas-funding-cap/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) accommodation funding cap has failed to control rising student housing prices, according to Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela. During a recent meeting of Parliament’s portfolio committee for higher education, Manamela explained that the cap has instead served as a \"price signal,\" prompting service providers to raise rents to match the cap. The issue has been brought to light by protests and calls from University of Cape Town (UCT) students who argue that the cap is no longer feasible, as students cannot cover the difference between the cap and the actual rental fees. The cap, introduced in 2023, is set differently depending on the type of accommodation and its location, with non-catered private accommodation capped at R52,000 annually in metropolitan areas and approximately R43,000 elsewhere. The committee heard that the accommodation cap has left students burdened with the shortfall between the NSFAS limit and actual rental fees, forcing them into debt and creating unsafe living conditions. Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie expressed concerns about the cap not reflecting market realities across different cities and about reports of students living in buildings with poor quality, inadequate sanitation, and fire hazards. Nsfas CEO, Waseem Carrim, explained that the institution cannot dictate what landlords charge and that costs are being passed down to students, who are incurring debt or using their allowances to pay rent. Nsfas senior manager for student accommodation, Heena Valjee, noted that accommodation funding has increased by 50% between 2023 and 2026, with Nsfas projected to spend nearly R19-billion on university accommodation and about R3.5-billion on TVET student housing this year. The department recommended that the accommodation cap be \"reconceptualised\" and called for an urgent investigation into accommodation accreditation and costing practices.",
  "summary": "MPs heard that the accommodation cap has failed to keep prices low.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}