The Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, has said that they are working on the inefficiencies within not only the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) but also the Department of Higher Education.
There are issues of inefficiencies which are unacceptable, sometimes from the side of Universities and there are also sometimes challenges and inefficiencies on the side of NSFAS. That we must deal with without any fail.
The Department is said to have outlined the work they have done and continue to do when it comes to issues within NSFAS and issues students are having with the financial aid scheme.
Nzimande said, "If there are problems of efficiencies or administration, we want to say to management and SRCs, sit down and solve the problems."
I think on the whole NSFAS has done really well given the challenges we are facing in this pandemic. I don't want to say 'NSFAS is useless, it's totally inefficient', it's not true.
He then commended the previous Administrator, Dr Randall Carolissen, for the work he did.
NSFAS is said to know it's inefficiencies and were instructed to prioritise their ICT systems which has also costed them heaps of money but is still inefficient.
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The Minister then said that he plans to introduce an Ombud system for complaints that will be working more or less like the office of the Public Protector where complaints can be reported in the Higher Education Sector.
He also plans to make changes to the Higher Education act to establish the office of the Ombud.
The Ombuds will then see what the problem is and get answers for it and see what is being done about the issue.
There are usually a large volume of complaints at the beginning of each year and this is how the Department plans to deal with them.
