Public Protector flags improper funding of 40,000 NSFAS students

Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, says more than 40,000 students were improperly funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) across 76 institutions of higher learning.

Gcaleka says only R2 billion of the R5.1 billion used to improperly fund the students has so far been recovered.

She revealed this during a briefing where she provided an update on an ongoing systemic investigation into alleged maladministration and governance failures at NSFAS.

This follows revelations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) that some of the students did not meet the scheme’s funding requirements, including exceeding the qualifying household income threshold.

Earlier this year, NSFAS was placed under administration amid ongoing governance and maladministration concerns.

Gcaleka says the scheme is facing what she describes as a near-permanent state of crisis, raising concerns about its ability to effectively support students who genuinely qualify for financial aid.

“With recoveries exceeding 2 billion rands, considered together with the complaints received, stakeholder engagements and other oversight findings, these developments strengthened the Public Protector’s view that the matter disclosed  prima facie evidence of prior systemic maladministration warranting investigation  under Section 182 of the Constitution.”

“The evidence also indicates instability and its resultant inefficiencies through students citing delays in funding confirmations and the payment of allowances, in the processing of appeal applications and delays in the settlement of student tuition accounts, resulting in withheld qualifications.”

Gcaleka says the failure by NSFAS officials to adequately administer the scheme’s services is inconsistent with the Constitution.

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has welcomed the Public Protector’s findings, saying they confirm longstanding governance, administrative and operational challenges at NSFAS.

Manamela says these concerns contributed to his decision to place the scheme under administration earlier this year. He says the findings are also consistent with a recent report by the NSFAS Administrator, which identified several issues requiring urgent intervention.

In March, Manamela raised concerns about NSFAS’s financial management and governance after the Auditor-General issued a disclaimer of opinion, saying its accounting records and supporting evidence were inadequate to determine whether its financial statements were reliable.

Last week, the minister also revealed that South Africa would need between R60 billion and R70 billion to address the shortage of student accommodation at universities and TVET colleges.

He warned that the cost of student accommodation now far surpasses tuition.

His warning comes as NSFAS faces a projected R15 billion funding shortfall, raising concerns that some qualifying students could lose financial support.

We have citizens who like to take no accountability. While there are genuinely poor people in need of NSFAS, others used irregular methods to obtain this funding. Others steal electricity by means of illegal connections. And more. Yet, apparently, we all hate corruption. https://t.co/amR75oPLxF

— Trev 🇿🇦🇵🇸🇸🇩🇻🇪🇮🇷 (@TrevorMoyz) August 18, 2026

What’s really going on at NSFAS?

Cash cow for corrupt officials?

— That Mpesu guy (@MokgethwaMacha1) August 18, 2026

Yoh and yet there are deserving students who are not funded by NSFAS

— IdyaniYaseWest (@usandantamo) August 18, 2026

So why not dissolve the board and take back everything to Universities? Why do we still have NSFAS? We don’t need it

— Maplomo Matlapa (@L2268994) August 18, 2026