JOHANNESBURG - For many students who depend on NSFAS, the continued scandals that keep unfolding within the funding scheme causes worry.
Not only does it leave them wondering whether they will have funding for tuition, but whether they will have a place to stay and enough money to get through the month.
This was clear from South African Union of Students Financial Aid Subcommittee Chairperson Tshepiso Zungu as he reacted to Parliament questioning millions paid to advisors appointed by administrator Hlengani Mathebula, whose appointment has been provisionally set aside.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria handed down an interim order for the suspension of Mathebula's appointment, pending the finalisation of Part B, which is whether or not the board should have been dissolved in the first place.
The order comes a day after Parliament questioned Mathebula and Higher Education Minister, Buti Manamela, over funds being paid to advisors without the Finance Minister’s approval.
READ | Higher Education scrambles for answers after NSFAS administrator suspension
Zungu said he sees no point in an administrator.
“It's very disappointing because the main core of why an administrator is appointed is to deal with the administration side and ensure stability is attained. But what we are witnessing currently is an administrator failing to do his job and appointing more people or lobbying to appoint more people to do the job that he can't do appropriately," Zungu said.
Parliament questioned whether the process to pay to the four advisors who were appointed by Mathebula was legally and procedurally flawed.
According to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Tebogo Letsie, initially it was reported that they had been paid R2.4 million each per annum, but the accuracy of this figure has now been questioned.
More concerning for Letsie was the process by which the advisors had been paid.
“You would know that NSFAS is a public entity; it is governed by the Public Finance Management Act, which indicates that in order for you to onboard any company onto the system, there must be a competitive process through the supply chain process, and that was not done. That is why I was saying that was not only irregular, but it is also illegal for them to do so,” he explained.
Letsie said a government gazette signed by Manamela indicated that he would appoint the administrator under section 17 of the NSFAS Act.
READ | NSFAS board scores major court victory
Of that section, Letsie explains that :
- Section 17A speaks about his appointment as the administrator.
- Section 17B speaks about the appointment of those who will advise him or assist him in running the affairs,
- Section 17C speaks about the remuneration and allowances of both him and the advisors
- Section 17D speaks about the dissolution of the board
“Section 17C is extremely important to us because it says that he or his advisors should not or must not be paid until the Minister of Higher Education has received another concurrence, an agreement from the Minister of Finance, and because that was not done, any payment to these advisors becomes irregular…”Letsie said.
He said the committee is considering several steps, including demanding that money received irregularly be paid back.
It is also considering referring the professionals to their respective professional bodies and potentially opening criminal cases.
But behind the legal and parliamentary battle are the growing concerns of students to which Zungu speaks on.
He said problems within NSFAS deepened after the announcement to place the fund under administration and have the board dissolved in May 2026.
READ | Not the first time| How Nsfas ended up under administration again
He said that alone created instability even further.
“There's no appeal board now that deals with appeals. Hence, some of these operations are stagnant, while our students on the ground are facing issues day in, day out. Landlords right now are evicting some of these students because they're saying students don't have money to pay .
“Some of them are threatening our students with lawyers, and still, NSFAS doesn't seem to be able to solve this issue, particularly the Minister who decided to wake up in the morning on his bed and go and put an administrator, which now has been a burden to the entire sector of higher education, especially to the funding of our students,” he said
Zungu demanded stability within the fund for the sake of students.
"We had a system that dealt with appeals in time. We had a system that approved students in time. So that system at least was a bit effective than what we have.
"So, if we can get that system and try to adjust the failures from the first system that was now developing, I'm sure we can see progress within NSFAS," he said.