Political parties call for overhaul of NSFAS administration

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Some political parties in Parliament are calling for the complete overhaul of the administration of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). This follows damning allegations contained in an audio recording by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse against the fund’s board chairperson, Ernest Khosa and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande.

They are alleged to have received kickbacks from NSFAS service providers in return for tenders and protection. This has resulted in Khosa taking a leave of absence for 30 days, pending the outcome of the investigation.

However, the NSFAS Board says applications for financial assistance for this year have reached the 900 000 mark. Some MPs welcome Khosa’s voluntary leave of absence.

“Whether this is a witch hunt against the minister depends on the outcome of the investigations. No one must call it a witch hunt, we also hear the bear in mind that NSFAS has been under investigation by the SIU since 2022,” says Ganief Hendricks, Al Jama-ah leader.

There are also those calling for Nzimande’s head, adding that once the investigation is finalised heads must roll.

“We call on our minister of higher education to follow suit and to take it a step further and to do the honourable thing and resign. It must be noted that NSFAS is responsible for handling more than R46 billion in student grants. The hard-pressed students of South Africa deserve better,” says Wayne Thring, ACDP.

Others are calling for an overhaul of the system.

“It’s a very good idea to give the poor and working-class youth the opportunity to study but the whole set-up in terms of administration and the disbursement of the funds was a problem from the beginning because the organization was overwhelmed by huge numbers,” says Wynand Boshoff, FF Plus MP.

Chairperson of the Higher Education Committee, Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, declined to comment. Nzimande has denied the allegations while the NSFAS board said Khosa’s decision should not be interpreted as an admission of guilt.

Video: Nzimande dismisses NSFAS corruption allegations