Student organisations have welcomed the Public Protector’s findings on longstanding challenges at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), while calling for greater accountability and a thorough investigation into the scheme’s administration.
Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka released a report this week following an investigation into complaints concerning NSFAS.
The investigation found that more than 40,000 students across 76 higher education institutions were improperly funded to the value of approximately R5.1 billion. The findings point to systemic and administrative failures within the scheme.
The report comes as NSFAS continues to face scrutiny over governance, funding decisions and its ability to administer financial aid effectively.
In an interview with the SABC, South African Union of Students (SAUS) president Siyabonga Nkambako welcomed the Public Protector’s findings and said the organisation hoped the investigation would lead to a deeper examination of newly identified problems rather than focusing only on issues previously raised.
Nkambako said maladministration and systemic failures at NSFAS continued to leave students in difficult circumstances.
He said students who qualified for financial aid sometimes failed to receive funding, while others who were initially approved could subsequently be defunded during the academic year.
“These are students who deserve funding, yet they find themselves not getting the funding, and in other cases students who were funded in the beginning of the year are defunded during the course of the year, leaving them vulnerable,” Nkambako said.
He said students could also face further difficulties when NSFAS attempts to recover money that was incorrectly allocated.
Nkambako said students could find themselves subjected to institutional investigations or legal proceedings as a result of administrative mistakes made by NSFAS.
The South African Students Congress (SASCO) president Alungile Kamtshe said officials responsible for authorising payments should be held accountable where financial mismanagement is established.
Kamtshe said SASCO had previously called for a forensic investigation into NSFAS to establish how public funds had been administered and whether there had been wrongdoing.
“In our previous statements as SASCO we called for a forensic investigation into NSFAS first because we are interested in all that has been taking place, including the monies that have been used,” he said.
Kamtshe also raised allegations concerning the use of NSFAS funds for accommodation and other expenses involving public officials, saying these should form part of a broader forensic investigation. The allegations have not been independently established.
He said the findings should determine whether the problems at NSFAS were the result of administrative failures or deliberate wrongdoing.
“These are not simply mistakes, at least some of them. These are deliberate actions in order to steal from the poorest of the poor because these students that rely on NSFAS genuinely do not have the means to pay for university fees or accommodation,” Kamtshe said.
The calls for accountability come as NSFAS is undergoing a major governance intervention.
The scheme was placed under administration on 4 May 2026 after the dissolution of its board. The Department of Higher Education and Training said the intervention was aimed at strengthening NSFAS’s governance systems, institutional capability and ability to fulfil its mandate sustainably. The government has stressed that the administration does not affect students’ funding.
NSFAS Administrator Professor Hlengani Mathebula has subsequently submitted a stabilisation plan aimed at addressing the organisation’s institutional and operational challenges. The plan was developed after an assessment of the problems facing the scheme and outlines interventions intended to restore stability and strengthen its systems.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, Tebogo Letsie, said students should not bear the consequences of governance failures and administrative weaknesses at an institution established to support their education.
“We have said repeatedly that NSFAS must put students first. Students cannot be left to suffer while those entrusted with the administration of the scheme are preoccupied with governance disputes and boardroom squabbles. The focus must be on ensuring that students receive the support they are entitled to, and that public funds are properly managed,” Letsie said.
The latest findings add to years of scrutiny of NSFAS, which has faced criticism over funding delays, administration problems and governance concerns.
The Special Investigating Unit is also continuing its investigation into allegations involving NSFAS. The Department of Higher Education and Training said approximately R2 billion had been recovered through the SIU’s work to date, while consequence-management and recovery measures remain underway.
