The University of Cape Town (UCT) says it will be allocating around R1 billion this year, towards assisting students who are struggling to pay their fees. This as many students who were accepted to study at UCT are struggling to pay for tuition and accommodation.

Funding from NSFAS for qualifying students is sometimes also not sufficient to cover the costs for studying at UCT.

Student debt at UCT is a major issue that the institution has to deal with annually. Many students have appealed for assistance with funding

The reasons for their debt include withdrawal of funding from NSFAS due to poor results, not qualifying for financial aid and increased accommodation costs.

But, UCT says it will be offering support to some of the affected students to help them continue their studies.

“About 50 percent of undergraduate students need financial aid and we spend about R1.2 billion on providing support for students and about 50 percent of undergraduate students need financial aid,” says UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela.

Last year, the university took a decision to support Palestine and cut ties with Israeli academics. And a new Vice-Chancellor was appointed after the decision was made. The academic boycott has received both criticism and praise.

“Senate had already made a decision that they’re going to support Palestine. Council also already made its decision recognising that there were some atrocities that happened on the Israeli side. Those records are there in terms of the statements that have been released, but on the ground it was difficult. I spent a lot of time engaging stakeholders and I had to engage with some people that were not happy with us,” Moshabela adds.

Moshabela will also have his work cut out for him in the coming years, as he looks to rebuild trust and confidence in UCT, following various allegations of mismanagement and poor governance during the tenure of his predecessor, Mamokgethi Phakeng.

He says the new university management is working hard to change the institutional culture, so that they can bring about positive change in the future.