The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has welcomed the arrest of a former Student Representative Council (SRC) member from Rustenburg TVET College, who was taken into custody by the Hawks’ Serious Economic Offences Unit at their Pretoria headquarters for allegedly scamming first-year students out of R14,000 in NSFAS allowances.
According to NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi, the scheme’s Forensics Unit first received a complaint in June 2023 from a student at Orbit TVET College, who reported fraudulent transactions that had been processed on the bank account used to receive her NSFAS allowances.
“Upon preliminary investigation, the NSFAS Forensics Unit confirmed that the fraudulent transactions involved unauthorised transfers made into the bank account of the implicated SRC member. Further forensic inquiry established that multiple students from Orbit TVET College had been similarly affected,” Mnisi said.
He added that NSFAS investigators immediately launched an onsite investigation at Orbit TVET College. With support from officers in the SAPS Serious Economic Offences Unit in Pretoria, “several criminal cases were formally registered for further investigation and possible prosecution.”
Mnisi said NSFAS appreciates the cooperation shown throughout the investigation.
“NSFAS commends the swift action and collaboration demonstrated by law enforcement authorities. The assistance provided by the Orbit TVET College management to the investigators, as well as the support they have shown to the affected students, is highly commendable,” he said.
He emphasised that NSFAS remains firm in its commitment to protecting the integrity of the student funding system.
“We take any instance of fraud or misconduct extremely seriously and will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.”
Mnisi also urged students across the country to remain alert and safeguard their personal information to avoid becoming targets of scams.
“We strongly appeal to all students to take the following precautions to protect themselves from fraud and exploitation,” he said.
Mnisi reminded students to remain vigilant, stressing that NSFAS staff will never request a fee to process an application and that no student should pay anyone, including SRC members or individuals claiming to be NSFAS employees, to follow up on application outcomes.
He urged students not to share personal information with anyone not authorised to handle NSFAS matters, to always log out of their myNSFAS profiles, and to avoid suspicious links or unofficial platforms mimicking NSFAS pages. Mnisi added that students facing system challenges should only follow official NSFAS procedures and report any suspected fraud to SAPS or via the NSFAS fraud email at [email protected].
He added that NSFAS will continue strengthening its fraud-prevention measures to ensure that funding reaches deserving students and that those abused by criminal schemes receive justice.
The Star