BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Students from the country’s tertiary institutions can expect that their allowances will be paid as soon as all the invoices are submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
This announcement was made today (Tuesday, October 15, 2024) by Minister of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi. He made this announcement at the Ministry’s Conference Room in Mbabane.
The minister informed the public that the disbursement of allowances was only informed by invoices submitted to his Ministry by the tertiary institutions. By the end of this month, the Ministry has projected that it would have disbursed over E27 million.
He said the issue was not the unavailability of money, but it was an issue of timely submission of information that would enable the Ministry to disburse the allowances.
According to Buthelezi, his Ministry started disbursing allowances in August 2024 with ongoing students. For the month of August, the Ministry disbursed allowances approximating E1.1 million which were allowances for the few ongoing students.
In September 2024, Buthelezi said E8.5 million was disbursed and in October 2024 the ministry has disbursed E22.6 million thus far.
“The Ministry is still receiving invoices from local tertiary institutions and processing of allowances is ongoing. The ministry projects that by October 30, 2024, a further E27 617 968 million on local student allowances will be paid,” Buthelezi said.
He said disbursement of allowances was an exercise facilitated when a student had fully registered and had been invoiced by the tertiary institution.
“The Ministry therefore advises students who have not received allowances in the month ended 30th October 2024, that these will be processed as soon as registration is completed and invoices are submitted to the Ministry by tertiary institutions,” he said.
According to the minister, the Ministry would then endeavour to process all payments with the utmost efficiency required in this regard.
He assured students that the Ministry continued to do everything possible to ensure that the allowances would be received as soon as it is possible and that the anticipated dates for payment will be communicated in due course.
Meanwhile, the minister also informed the nation that University of Eswatini (UNESWA) students who pursue the Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) are eligible for scholarships offered by Government.
“The Ministry of Labour and Social Security is pleased to inform students studying at the University of Eswatini that Cabinet has resolved that the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) will be funded for the academic year 2024/2025,” Buthelezi said.
The minister further mentioned that the PGCE progamme would cease being funded at the end of academic year 2028/2029. According to the minister, the Ministry will notify students wishing to pursue the programme on application dates and logistics in due course.
Equally important is notice that the Ministry will no longer fund the Bachelor of Arts in Humanities programme with effect from academic year 2025/ 2026, as the programme does not form part of the priority areas of study.
All students wishing to pursue the programme from next year 2025 will be self-funded. A reviewed Priority list will be disseminated as soon as possible, Buthelezi said.
The Ministry, according to Buthelezi, re-emphasises its commitment to ensuring that students’ welfare is prioritised and that an enabling environment is created for them to make their learning journey a positive experience and of course cannot achieve this without the cooperation of all the stakeholders; that is the tertiary institutions, student body and parents.