Has NSFAS run out of money?

9 March 2021

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande, to come clean to South Africa and confirm whether the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has run out of money.

There seems to be strong evidence pointing in this direction as a number of issues regarding NSFAS have recently come to light:

Two weeks ago, NSFAS CEO, Andile Nongogo, announced that certain key study areas won’t be financed on a postgraduate level, and that others won’t be financed at all, in complete contradiction to the Critical Skills List;

The uncertainty over whether first-year students and the missing middle would receive NSFAS funding;

The debacle around whether students who have received a Special Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant of R350 would be disqualified from NSFAS funding; and

The questions regarding the number of first-year students that would be allowed to study at the University of South Africa (UNISA) this year and have been approved for NSFAS funding.

While the SRD grant confusion has since been blamed on an ill-informed worker and seemingly cleared up, the fact of the matter is that there is little transparency over who will receive funding from the Scheme. Both NSFAS and the Minister are muddying the water at every turn creating more anxiety for students who have already suffered through a traumatic 2020.

The Minister and NSFAS seem to be trying to divert attention from the fact that there does not appear to be enough money to support poor students to access quality education. These tactics have the potential to lead to a massive disruption of South Africa’s higher education institutions, as they will ultimately have to carry the burden and face the ire of disappointed students all because government is failing to communicate openly and honestly with South Africans.

Students deserve to know the truth regarding their futures. They need to plan and put contingencies in place should NSFAS fail them. Keeping them in the dark will only exacerbate the problem.

Issued by Chantel King, DA Shadow Minister for Higher Education, Science & Technology, 9 March 2021