The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has expressed concern at media reports of non-payment of allowances for students at University of South Africa (UNISA).

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the NSFAS said students from this institution should have by now received their allowances as a total of R247 078 688.97 was advanced to the institution on 6 February 2019.

"UNISA along with other 25 universities agreed to administer direct payments of allowances to their students. More than R3 billion was advanced to universities who complied with the preconditions of a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

"The first tranche of payments was meant to ensure that First-Time Entering Students (FTENs) and senior students who are NSFAS approved receive their allowances as they commence with academic activities," said NSFAS in a statement.

Universities are required to transfer funds to ensure that students are able to access funds for living expenses (accommodation, food, transport etc) and learning materials, and then secondly apply funding towards paying the first instalment of the tuition fee.