Cassim gets 132 Ekurhuleni East students paid, 30 still waiting

Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Yusuf Cassim has welcomed progress in resolving outstanding Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Services SETA) bursary payments and benefits for 162 students at Ekurhuleni East TVET College, according to a statement from the Ministry of Higher Education and Training carried by SAnews (South African Government News Agency).

Services SETA allocated bursaries worth R15,6 million for 200 students at the college. Of the 195 who applied, the college submitted 162 as qualifying to Services SETA and SAPCO, the implementing agent, after internal screening. The remaining 33 applicants either did not meet the bursary criteria or had not submitted all required documents.

Of the 162 on the college list, 145 were found fully compliant and their tuition fees were processed in September. A further 17 students are still in process, and the college has committed to completing that within seven days.

The college reported that R1,98 million in outstanding allowances had been paid to 132 students in September, following the Deputy Minister’s intervention. A further 30 students remain unprocessed because of banking or documentation issues. The college’s finance team is working with those students and the SRC to resolve the problems, with a commitment to finalise the outstanding cases by Friday, 9 October 2026. The college and Services SETA will reconcile the outstanding cases and payment records.

Textbooks have been provided to all Services SETA-funded students. Laptops remain outstanding. The college expedited the procurement process following the intervention and has committed to delivering the laptops by mid-October.

The college updated Cassim during an oversight visit at the Kwa-Thema Campus on Friday. Before that visit, the Deputy Minister engaged with Services SETA on 3 September 2026, requesting a detailed update on the administration of its bursaries, including whether qualifying students were receiving their tuition, allowances, textbooks and laptops. Cassim called for clear, urgent action to address outstanding payments at affected institutions, including Ekurhuleni East, and for the reconciliation of beneficiary records and bursary expenditure.

The Ministry said applicants with incomplete documentation may submit the outstanding documents for reassessment, subject to the applicable process. The college and Services SETA will communicate further on the correct process.

Other matters discussed during the engagement included delays in the issuing of National N-Diploma and National Certificate Vocational Level 4 certificates. National N-Diploma applications require students to submit their N4-N6 certificates, proof of practical experience and statements of results to the department’s examinations section through their TVET college, and the Ministry said these applications often face significant delays.

In response, the Deputy Minister, through the office of the Deputy Director-General for TVET colleges, Sam Zungu, will request that the Department’s National Examination and Assessment Directorate provide the Ministry with a report on the delays affecting the issuance of outstanding certificates, together with a turnaround plan to expedite processing and resolution of the outstanding cases.

“I would like to thank Services SETA for its continued investment in skills development and education across the PSET sector,” Cassim said. “It is important that we manage these bursaries properly, so that SETAs and other entities do not withdraw funding because of our administrative challenges. Students should not have to wait this far into the academic year to receive the full bursary benefits for which they qualify. This is a problem across the system, and we must find ways to address it. I also want to thank the college management for working constructively to address the concerns raised.”

This report is based on the Ministry’s statement as published by SAnews, which is a summary of the college’s update to the Deputy Minister rather than the underlying payment records themselves.

Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), Deputy Minister welcomes progress made in bursary payments