The “ongoing” accommodation and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) crisis was the centre of discussions at a recent caucus meeting held by candidates standing for next year’s student representative council (SRC) at Stellenbosch University (SU).
This was according to Sibabalwe Manyifolo, director of oversight and compliance for the electoral commission.
Liam Gillesen, one of the candidates in the election for the Stellenbosch University (SU) 2024/2025 student representative council (SRC), claimed that the university brings in more funds for accommodation purposes by allowing “rich parents” to donate. He said this at the fifth caucasus held by the SU electoral commission. PHOTO: Nicola Amon
This comes after students felt abandoned by the SRC earlier this year, said Manyifolo.
The debate and Q&A session, held on 22 August, included nine of the 16 candidates running for the 2024/2025 SRC.
The SRC elections have since closed and SU is awaiting results.
Inequalities in acceptance policy
One of the most pressing issues facing the incoming SRC is the shortage of accommodation for the upcoming academic year, according to Henko Claassen, a candidate in the upcoming election.
SU is an “enabler of the [accommodation crisis]” by accepting more students than it can accommodate, claimed Jack Kroukamp, another candidate.
Nine out of the 16 candidates running in the upcoming 2024/2025 Stellenbosch University student representative council elections participated in the electoral commission’s fifth caucus meeting, participating in a debate and Q&A session. This is according to Sibabalwe Manyifolo, director of oversight and compliance for the electoral commission. Left to right are candidates: Michael Manzi, Jack Kroukamp, Joseph Power, Henko Claassen and Liam Gillesen. PHOTO: Nicola Amon
The university received approximately 88 000 first-year applications for 2024. Approximately 6 900 first-years registered for the academic year, according to Anél Lewis, senior journalist for corporate communications and marketing at SU.
“In total, the university offers approximately 8 000 residence beds and has accredited 7 600 private beds for 2024,” she said.
Two new residences are in the construction phase and will add 400 beds to the system upon completion, according to Lewis.
The need for more accredited residences
The crisis is “ongoing” and will only continue if things remain as they are, claimed Michael Manzi, another SRC candidate. “The university should work to get Kayamandi accommodation accredited,” he said.
“Stellenbosch has a rigid system for accrediting accommodation – too rigid, making it difficult for more student housing to be made available,” said Liam Gillesen, SRC candidate in the upcoming election.
The outgoing SRC chairperson, Phiwokuhle Qabaka, attended the caucus meeting as an audience member and claimed that the university will transfer the responsibility of accommodation accreditation to NSFAS.
“These are public meetings where students can ask candidates about their positions on certain issues,” said Sibabalwe Manyifolo, director of oversight and compliance for the student representative council’s electoral commission. A question and answer session was held at the Stellenbosch University electoral commission’s fifth caucus meeting. PHOTO: Nicola Amon
Lewis attributed the lack of available accommodation in 2024 to the lowered NSFAS rental allowances, claiming that students could not cover rental fees for private accommodation.
“[SU will] continue to engage with the relevant entities, including the SRC and NSFAS, to work towards long-term solutions in finding suitable accommodation,” said Lewis.