Suspension of transport leaves scores of UMP students stranded

Hundreds students at the University of Mpumalanga’s Mbombela campus remain stranded without transport, after services were suspended.
This, in protest over the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s (NSFAS) failure to pay for their services.
Mpumalanga Association for Student Accommodation secretary, Amos Mdluli says they have not been paid and it is difficult for the members to continue transporting the students.
“NSFAS supposed to use that data to pay the landlords for the students that are occupying the properties. Landlords have not yet received the rental for February, have not receive rental for March and now they are citing that rental by the first of April to accommodation providers that are servicing students at universities. The work that is done by accommodation providers is very very heavy because the municipalities on monthly basis they want what is due to them.”
Meanwhile, the University of Mpumalanga has moved to online lectures after the private accommodation providers halted student transport. The university spokesperson Tlangelani Ubisi says they do not want their students lodging off-campus to miss out on their studies.
“We took a decision to continue with teaching and learning online, in essence lectures are on going. But we are doing them online. We did so to ensure that our students won’t lose teaching and learning time. As an institution we are concerned by the decision taken by the landlords to stop transporting students while we understand that they have the contractual relationship with NSFAS.”
www.sabcnews.com, https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/1114423-2/