MEDIA ADVISORY

28 JULY 2026

DEPUTY MINISTER YUSUF CASSIM CONDUCTS OVERSIGHT VISIT TO WESTERN TVET

COLLEGE TO INVESTIGATE STUDENT EVICTIONS AND NSFAS ACCOMMODATION

CHALLENGES

On Wednesday, 29 July 2026, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Yusuf Cassim, MP, will conduct an oversight visit to Western TVET College (WestCol) at the Krugersdorp West Campus to discuss student accommodation challenges, NSFAS payment delays, and recent student evictions.

The Deputy Minister will be accompanied by officials from NSFAS and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The visit follows reports of significant disruptions affecting WestCol students at the Krugersdorp Central and West Campuses. Through the Deputy Minister’s Helpdesk, students reported that during the July recess, the college Student Res informed them not to return because WestCol accommodation payments had not been received from NSFAS since the start of the academic year.

These challenges negatively affected more than 60 students who were displaced and, as a result, missed classes while NSFAS and the accommodation provider were engaged in talks to settle the payment disputes. Through the intervention of the Office of the Deputy Minister, the college provided affected students with temporary accommodation in the interim. Today, the deputy minister formally wrote to the NSFAS Administrator, Prof Hlengani Mathebula, to request progress updates on urgent and serious outstanding NSFAS issues raised through the DM’s Helpdesk.

Members of the media are invited to attend the oversight visit as follows:

Date: Wednesday, 29 July 2026

Time: 10h00 -13h30

Venue: Western TVET College, Krugersdorp West Campus, 87 Figulus Street Krugersdorp West

Issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Training

Enquiries:

Sipho Stuurman

076 965 4880

Stuurman.S@dhet.gov.za