The discrimination against UNISA students by NSFAS is disheartening. Apart from students having to deal with getting allowances late, the personal care allowance of R290 is a joke!

We keep getting told that UNISA is an ODL institution and we can't compare ourselves with other full time universities. Yes, we get that, but what's the difference now since we are all studying from home since 2020? Other institutions get monthly data since COVID-19 became a thing, apart from that they have WiFi at their institutions, we only get it for 3 months during exams and the R290 (actually R250 because it covers transport and Intellimali withdrawal fees) does not even buy data to last a month for those online studies we keep getting told about that we do from "home"!

We are not asking for an allowance equal to them, we are asking for something to at least cover the basic minimum of the personal care they preach. Not all students even get that R290, only students who registered 10 modules... what about the rest? In this country, when it comes to anything that excludes NSFAS students, we are excluded. When NSFAS students benefit, we are also excluded from the benefits, and yet we are expected to be grateful because we are getting free education... how when we are being treated unfairly?!

If UNISA is for working people then allow us to get jobs and don't exclude us just because we are funded by NSFAS. On the other side we are not allowed to apply for the R350 relief grant, or get any government related job opportunities and we are expected to be "grateful" because the government owes us nothing and yet NSFAS is for catering poor students... I still ask, with this unemployment rate becoming another pandemic on its own, what is to happen to those unemployed UNISA students who are not getting R290 because they are excluded from everything else?