The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has come under scrutiny after the Auditor-General revealed that 822 deceased students received funding during the 2024/2025 financial year.
According to the report, NSFAS disbursed a total of R210 million to students who did not qualify for financial aid. However, NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi stated that he could not yet disclose how much of this amount was specifically paid to deceased beneficiaries.
“The details will be in the annual report which is still to be tabled in Parliament,” Mnisi said.
It also remains unclear whether the funds paid to deceased students covered tuition, accommodation, or allowances.
The report further found that more than 14,000 students received funding despite exceeding the household income threshold, while an additional 300 students were improperly benefiting from both NSFAS funding and Social Relief Grants.
Higher Education Deputy Minister Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube attributed these issues to NSFAS losing access to key national databases, including systems from SARS and Home Affairs. This has significantly limited their ability to verify applicants’ identities and financial statuses.
“We have asked NSFAS to institute a forensic investigation on a number of issues,” said Dube-Ncube.
A departmental statement confirmed that authorities are still unable to determine the exact breakdown of the misallocated funds.
“What we are in a position to do is investigate, recover and prevent recurrence,” said spokesperson Matshepo Seedat.
The department and NSFAS have engaged with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to address both previously flagged concerns and newly identified financial irregularities.
Dube-Ncube highlighted that accommodation service providers are among those being scrutinized, particularly staff members who are expected to perform additional verification checks before approving applications. “The system needs to be cleaned up,” she said.
She emphasized the importance of NSFAS in supporting students, stressing that it must function effectively to fulfill its purpose.
“NSFAS is a very important scheme that we need in our country; it has to be put to good use so that it continues the job it was established for,” she added.
Dube-Ncube also raised concerns about governance within the department, questioning the effectiveness of existing oversight structures.”We need to ask whether the system needs to be run this way,” she said.
