Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela says South Africa may have to rethink free higher education if the government cannot close NSFAS’s growing R15 billion funding shortfall.
South Africa may have to rethink its approach to free higher education if the government cannot find more money to fund the growing number of students entering universities and TVET colleges.
This is according to Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela, who warned that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is facing a funding shortfall of about R15 billion.
Manamela said the shortfall had grown from about R2.5 billion in 2018 to R13.5 billion last year and had now reached about R15 billion because the number of students needing financial support continues to increase while government funding does not grow at the same rate.
"NSFAS has continuously experienced shortfalls, and these shortfalls are essentially as a result of the demand for higher education,". the minister said
