Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela recently placed the embattled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) under administration, with Professor Hlengani Mathebula appointed as the new administrator.
With the board now seemingly dissolved, this marks the third time since 2018 that the organisation has been placed under administration. Dr Randall Carolissen served as NSFAS administrator from August 2018 to December 2020, while Sithembiso Freeman Nomvalo held the role from April 2024 until February 2025.
What further compounds these challenges are persistent delays and disruptions in student payments and allowances, ongoing administrative backlogs, weak governance structures and an apparent inability by the NSFAS board to fulfil its mandate. Concerns over inadequate financial control systems have only deepened public frustration.
Two recent developments would test even the staunchest optimist. First, the Auditor-General’s report revealed that NSFAS received a disclaimer of audit opinion for the 2024/25 financial year, with R45 billion reportedly unaccounted for. Second, media reports indicate that at least 12 000 students are currently experiencing food insecurity, hunger and homelessness because of NSFAS “gap investigations”, during which funding for qualifying students was abruptly halted.
