Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education Tebogo Letsie commended the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) for recovering R1.7 billion in unallocated funds from institutions of higher learning.
Proclamation R88 of 2022 signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa granted the SIU authority to investigate various matters concerning the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). Since the proclamation was signed, more than a billion rand has been recovered by the unit.
Last week, the SIU confirmed the payment of R450 million and R438 million made by the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of the Free State (UFS) respectively to the SIU emanating from NSFAS.
These funds were unallocated from the years 2016 to 2021. These funds were generated by various events, such as students receiving multiple sources of funding and changes in the total cost of study for an academic year.
The unallocated funds were supposed to have been collected by NSFAS at the end of each year from institutions of higher learning through reconciliation.
The recovery from UFS and Wits took the SIU’s total recoveries to more than R1.7 billion.
The payment made by Wits and UFS brings the total amount received from institutions of higher learning to approximately R1.7 Billion since the inception of the NSFAS investigation in September 2022.
While the SIU recovered these funds, they conceded that NSFAS was at fault due to their failure to design and implement controls.
However, the SIU’s investigation revealed that NSFAS failed to design and implement controls that would ensure an annual reconciliation between the funds disbursed to the institutions and the funded list of registered students.
Parliament Slams NSFAS Weak Systems
Chairperson Letsie described the recovery of more than R800 million from the two universities as proof that corruption exists at South Africa’s universities.
These institutions have been known to claim funding for students who were not enrolled or to inflate the amounts claimed, misrepresenting the true cost of study."
Letsi said the lack of system integration between universities and NSFAS must be addressed to eliminate wastage of state funds.
I have repeatedly emphasized during committee meetings that many universities were siphoning millions from NSFAS. The biggest casualties are the students, and the devastating impact on their lives when funding fails them and desperation takes over cannot be overstated.
It is estimated that NSFAS has racked up R60 billion in irregular expenditure over the last four years, which is more than the scheme’s annual budget for providing comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving learners enrolled in approved courses at universities and TVET colleges.
The committee said they continue to support NSFAS to improve its systems.
