Buti Manamela, Minister of Higher Education and Training. (Photo: GCIS)
The student union Saus is calling for urgent intervention with the National Financial Aid Scheme for Students (NSFAS) after the auditor general (AG) found that 822 people still received funding from the scheme after their death. The OG report also shows thousands of people who did not qualify for the funding also received payments.
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela instructed the NSFAS board’s forensic unit to work with the Special Investigation Unit (SUI) on cases that are already under investigation and to refer incidents of fraud and misrepresentation to the appropriate authorities.
NSFAS received a negative opinion for the 2024-25 financial year – the most serious audit outcome an institution can receive, says Manamela.
The OG believes that the institution is facing an increasing collapse in management, financial controls and accountability systems. Nine material irregularities were identified, including four new incidents.
Thato Masekoa, spokesperson for Saus, says more than 100,000 students are uncertain about their financial future because NSFAS’s money is drying up.
The union says it is outraged and concerned after the OG’s findings. “This is a serious institutional failure that undermines the core mandate of NSFAS and public confidence in one of the country’s most critical student support systems.
“At a time when thousands of deserving students are excluded, deprived of funding or in prolonged uncertainty about their funding status, such mismanagement is unacceptable and extremely unfair. NSFAS exists so that poor and working class students can have access to higher education and the deviation or misallocation of these funds jeopardizes this goal and strengthens inequality,” says Masekoa.
The union says that although it notes Manamela’s acknowledgment of the shortcomings in the current verification processes and that this is important, it must be followed up with urgent, effective and transparent corrective measures.
Saus says he notes the role Waseem Carrim, acting chief executive of NSFAS, is playing in the efforts to stabilize the issue over recent months, including strengthening administrative oversight, improving payment systems and tackling operational failures within the scheme. “These efforts must be supported and accelerated to ensure meaningful and long-lasting reform.”
Masekoa says now is not the time for instability or reactions. “Saus calls on NSFAS’s leadership to build on stabilization work, to demonstrate accountability and take concrete steps to correct systemic failures.”
He says rebuilding the integrity of the institution, strengthening systems and ensuring that funding reaches the students for whom it is intended must be prioritized.
Saus calls for strengthening verification systems through integration with government databases such as those of the Department of the Interior and the Revenue Service to prevent discrepancies in identity and income status.
They also call for a comprehensive forensic investigation to detect irregular payouts and, where necessary, ensure accountability.
The union says people who have acted unlawfully, negligently or in bad faith must be faced with clear and definite consequences, which include removal from the institution and possible legal action.
Masekoa says the need for transparent and continuous communication from NSFAS to students and the wider public about steps being taken is important.
“The scandal highlights a painful contradiction within the current system: while funds are lost through poor governance and power coordination, real students suffer from exclusion and financial hardship. This cannot continue. The failures have far-reaching consequences for young people across the country.”