JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is failing South African students due to deep-rooted systemic and structural flaws, according to a damning assessment by Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka. As the higher education funding crisis deepens, experts warn that the current administration of the financial aid scheme is not only jeopardizing academic progress but also infringing on the constitutional rights of young people to access equitable education.
Recent reports indicate that NSFAS has failed to disburse approximately 10 billion rand to universities, leaving several institutions desperate for operational funding. Compounding the crisis, the High Court in Pretoria recently ruled that Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela’s appointment of Hlengani Mathebula as the NSFAS administrator was unlawful and irregular.
Professor Siseko Kumalo, an Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), stated that the situation can only be described as a mess. According to Prof. Kumalo, the Public Protector’s findings critically highlight that previous remedial recommendations were neglected by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). While the entity itself has attempted to stabilize operations, the overseeing ministry has failed to effectively implement corrective actions produced by past task teams.
While Minister Buti Manamela is the political figurehead who must take responsibility, Prof. Kumalo noted that the ministry has seen substantial turnover in recent years. Manamela, who previously served as deputy minister, assumed the top role after his predecessor was removed following irregular appointment debacles involving SITA boards. However, experts argue the minister did not learn from his predecessor’s mistakes, as evidenced by the High Court’s ruling against his unlawful appointment of the NSFAS administrator.
The minister’s previous decision to dissolve the NSFAS board was also met with widespread objection and accusations of irregular action. The board had reportedly considered challenging the minister in court before ultimately abandoning the bid. Notably, the minister also failed to appear before the parliamentary portfolio committee on the day the board was dissolved, leaving critical questions about the decision unanswered.
The Public Protector’s report emphasizes that the dysfunction is not isolated to NSFAS alone; it is a systemic failure involving the ministry, the funding entity, and the universities themselves.
A major point of contention is the financial leakage in the current system. Over the last few years, third-party agents and companies managing the allocation process have been paid an estimated 500 million rand. Experts argue this is not “rocket science” and that streamlining payments by cutting out the middleman is a viable solution. Proposals have been made for the DHET to pay funds directly into institutions, allowing universities to administer the finances.
However, Prof. Kumalo expressed strong reservations about this direct-funding model due to concerns over institutional governance. If a billion-rand budget is allocated to a university with known challenges in procurement, financial oversight, and reporting mechanisms, the funds risk disappearing. Across the country, universities have faced instances of corruption, maladministration, and financial mismanagement, leading to the dismissal of several Chief Financial Officers.
For direct funding to succeed, Prof. Kumalo stressed that there must be rigorous coordination between the National Treasury, the DHET, and university leadership to ensure requisite financial capacity and ring-fenced budget allocations are strictly enforced.
The human cost of this administrative failure is severe. When funding is withheld or maladministered, students lose their accommodation, face food insecurity, and are unable to focus on their studies. Even when students manage to overcome these barriers and complete their academic requirements, universities often withhold their official qualification certificates due to outstanding institutional debts caused by delayed NSFAS payments.
This creates an additional, devastating barrier to entry for graduates attempting to join the job market. Prof. Kumalo warned that this cycle exacerbates the national unemployment crisis. When students cannot transition into the world of work, they become increasingly reliant on social grants, which in turn shrinks the tax-contributing pool and places a heavier burden on the country’s social provisioning budget.
As the higher education sector awaits the government’s next course of action to remedy the unlawful administrative appointments and implement the Public Protector’s findings, experts agree that a holistic, systems-based approach is urgently required to save the ecosystem and protect the futures of South Africa’s students.
