JOHANNESBURG - The Higher Education Portfolio Committee's decision to cancel a meeting on NSFAS has sparked outrage among political parties.
The EFF has now written to Parliament describing the move as irrational.
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela was scheduled to give an explanation for his decision to place the National Student Financial Aid Scheme under administration.
But this meeting did not happen.
READ | Not the first time| How Nsfas ended up under administration again
EFF Member of Parliament Sihle Lonzi said this cancellation undermines Parliamentary oversight.
" The Minister was informed on the 7th of May, two weeks ago, about this particular meeting, and he never raised any objections to the meeting.
"In fact, he confirmed with us that on that particular day, he does not have anything on his diary."
Lonzi said they were informed by the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education that the Minister has not submitted his presentation and documents for the meeting.
"We said the Minister's defiance, the Minister's non-compliance cannot hold Parliament in ransom. This has happened in the past before, when Ministers refused to come to Parliament, when Ministers chose to defy Parliament, but that can't stop the work of Parliament," he added.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, Tebogo Letsie, confirmed the postponement of the meeting due to the department’s non-submission of its presentation to the committee.
READ | NSFAS placed under administration
"We took this decision at 17:00 on Monday. As the day progressed, it was clear that we would not be getting any presentation from the department for our meeting. I then consulted with the Chair of Chairs in the National Assembly, and we agreed that I had to postpone the meeting. This is indeed a worrying trend and its unacceptable,” Letsie said.