NSFAS crisis: Manamela flags financial, governance and payment challenges

Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela says NSFAS’s financial, governance and operational challenges must be urgently addressed.

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has called for urgent attention to NSFAS’s financial, governance and operational challenges as the scheme transitions from administration to interim arrangements ordered by the court.

Manamela made the remarks on Thursday during a meeting with members of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board in Gauteng, with discussions focused on implementing an interim court order issued on August 14, 2026.

The meeting comes amid growing concerns over NSFAS’s financial position, payments to institutions, student funding administration and preparations for the 2027 academic year.

Manamela said the court order had changed NSFAS’s governance arrangements but did not remove the problems that prompted his decision to place the scheme under administration.