AfriForum Youth approached the legal firm Hurter Spies Inc. after 5 000 tertiary students’ NSFAS funding for the 2020 academic year was cancelled. AfriForum Youth will represent the nearly 100 students that contacted the organisation for this reason in court on 26 February 2021.
After discourse with NSFAS, the bursary scheme was very cooperative and AfriForum Youth was able to give feedback to students that lost their funding. Based on this information from NSFAS, the youth organisation could inform the students regarding the information needed to review their case. AfriForum Youth subsequently gave all the students that lost their funding an opportunity to contact the organisation before the court case is being heard on 26 February.
“We hope that this case will lead to an understanding between AfriForum and NSFAS so that these types of disputes will in future rather be settled outside the court. The drawn-out court procedures lead to big uncertainty among students that are currently not sure whether or not they will be able to further their studies in 2021,” says Bernard Pieters, Manager at AfriForum Youth.
AfriForum Youth intends on supporting both its members and those students that privately approached the organisation with this court case. AfriForum Youth already contacted NSFAS about this issue last year and is now attempting to settle this dispute in court.
AfriForum Youth has been fighting for the rights of students and young people for more than ten years. Become involved with the organisation’s youth structures today and help make a difference: Send an email to jeug@antiek.afriforum.co.za or SMS “Jeug” to 32687 (R1).