Waseem Carrim has been appointed as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). This decision was made following the end of the scheme's administration.
Carrim currently serves as NSFAS’s Chief Financial Officer. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession and holds two master's degrees. As the former CFO and CEO of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), he led a period of significant growth and financial stability.
Under Carrim’s leadership, the NYDA achieved nine consecutive clean audit outcomes and saw its budget expand from R400 million to R1.5 billion. Carrim has current board memberships at the Small Enterprise Finance Development Agency and UNISA Enterprise.
In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations, Carrim will work with the Board to develop a strategic vision for the future of NSFAS.
New NSFAS board chairperson Karen Stander believes Carrim’s experience at the NYDA makes him well-prepared to deal with the transitional period at NSFAS.
The board is confident that Mr. Carrim will provide the stability and leadership needed to initiate the transition of NSFAS towards becoming an international best practice benchmark in student funding.
Stander added that Carrim’s understanding of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE), as well as his commitment to innovation and growth, makes him an appropriate choice to lead NSFAS.
How We Got Here
NSFAS is undergoing a significant transition period. In the last twelve months, the scheme has faced scrutiny following the dissolution of its previous board and placement under administration.
The previous NSFAS board was dismissed by former Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande due to funding challenges, administrative inefficiencies, and concerns about corruption.
These issues led to delayed allowance disbursements, frustrated students, and the alleged involvement of the former CEO in a corruption scandal.
Other contributing factors included a lack of institutional capacity and the board’s failure to implement recommendations from the Werksmans Report, which exposed irregular service provider contracts that delayed critical student allowances for food and accommodation.
In April 2024, Nzimande appointed Freeman Nomvalo as NSFAS administrator after dissolving the board and placing NSFAS under administration due to its failure to pay student allowances.
Nomvalo’s term ended when the new NSFAS board was appointed in February 2025. This was in line with the terms of reference of the administration period.
