Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela has sounded the alarm over a growing funding crisis at NSFAS
Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela has sounded the alarm over a growing funding crisis at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) warning that the scheme is now facing a shortfall of about R15 billion
Manamela told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education on Wednesday that the shortfall had increased from about R2.5 billion in 2018 to R13.5 billion last year and had now reached about R15 billion.
He said the growing number of students entering universities and TVET colleges was putting more pressure on NSFAS, while government funding was not increasing at the same rate.
"These shortfalls are essentially a result of the demand for higher education. These shortfalls have compounded from just around 2.5 billion rands in 2018, and our current estimate, I think last year, was around 13.5 billion; our current estimate is around 15 billion," the Minister told MPs.
