Tebogo Letsie, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, says the rising student debt figures show that current interventions are not working as intended and warns that unresolved NSFAS-related challenges are worsening the crisis in the higher education sector.
More than 165,000 students across South Africa are unable to access their qualification certificates because of unpaid fees, as the country’s higher education debt crisis surges to R59 billion.
This emerged during a briefing to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Universities South Africa (USAF) and the South African Public Colleges Organisation on Friday.
DHET told the committee that 165 000 qualification certificates are currently being withheld due to outstanding student debt, describing the figure as “alarmingly high”. USAF, however, placed the number even higher, saying universities are withholding 188 209 certificates.
The committee heard that debt linked to students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) now stands at R29 billion, while self-funded students owe R26 billion. Institutions are also carrying R12 billion in irrecoverable debt.
