The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been placed under administration, with government assuring students that funding and allowances will continue uninterrupted despite the intervention.
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela made the announcement during a media briefing on Monday, citing ongoing governance failures, audit concerns and operational challenges within the scheme.
In outlining the decision, the Manamela stressed that the intervention is aimed at stabilising NSFAS without affecting its core function of supporting students.
“The administration is not intended to disrupt NSFAS operations. Student funding will continue, allowances will continue, appeals processes will continue, and universities and TVET colleges will continue engaging NSFAS operationally.
“The purpose of the intervention is precisely to protect continuity and restore confidence,” Manamela said.
The assurance is likely to come as relief to thousands of students who rely on NSFAS for tuition, accommodation and daily allowances, often as their only means of accessing higher education.
Highlighting the scheme’s significance, Manamela said NSFAS remains central to South Africa’s broader transformation agenda.
“For many families, NSFAS is not an abstract institution; it is the difference between exclusion and opportunity, between hope and despair,” he said.
The decision follows what he described as a prolonged period of intervention attempts, undertaken in line with sections 17A to 17D of the NSFAS Act, 1999. It also comes amid leadership instability, including a series of board resignations in recent weeks, among them that of interim chairperson Dr Mugwena Maluleke.
Professor Hlengani Mathebula has been appointed as administrator, the third since 2018, a development that has raised concern among some lawmakers.
In response, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Tebogo Letsie, said the recurring need for administration points to deeper governance challenges within the entity.
“The repeated placement of NSFAS under administration is deeply concerning. It means that, since 2018, the entity has had three administrators appointed to address persistent governance failures, non-compliance with legal recommendations, poor management of student allowances,” Letsie said.
He warned that instability at leadership level often leaves students, the primary beneficiaries, exposed to uncertainty and a lack of direction.
Reactions from otjer stakeholders have, however, been mixed.
The South African Union of Students (SAUS) rejected the decision, arguing that it was neither justified nor preceded by adequate consultation.
“There has never been any consultation done with the South African Union of Students as the larger stakeholder in the sector… From the lived realities of students, NSFAS has shown measurable improvements in its operations,” the organisation said.
SAUS added that improvements in allowance disbursements, appeals processing and student accommodation coordination indicate a system that is functioning better than in previous years.
Meanwhile, the Public Servants Association (PSA) expressed concern over the lack of consultation and the broader implications of the intervention.
“The PSA has consistently raised concerns about the deepening crisis at NSFAS and the devastating impact on students and employees. NSFAS plays a central role in enabling access to higher education for poor and working-class students. Any failure in NSFAS directly threatens students’ constitutional right to education,” the association said.
The union further cautioned that while intervention may be necessary, it should not come at the expense of employees’ job security or labour rights.