The Minister of Higher Education Nobuhle Nkabane assured parliamentary members that it is implementing strict verification and auditing measures to prevent future misappropriation of funds within the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). This follows the recovery of close to a billion rand by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
NSFAS oversees a budget of around R50 billion annually. This money is used to fund students from poor and working-class backgrounds to obtain tertiary education qualifications. NSFAS provides bursaries and loans which cover tuition fees, registration fees and several allowances.
Since President Cyril Ramaphosa signed Proclamation R88 of 2022 granting the SIU authority to investigate various matters concerning the NSFAS, around a billion has been returned to public coffers.
Last week, Member of Parliament Sanele Zondo questioned Higher Education Minister Nkabane on how the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) is preventing future misappropriation of funds recovered by the SIU.
Minister Nkabane says the DHET has enhanced its internal audit procedures to ensure funds are paid to rightful holders.
Fraudulent claims and/or errors are detected through the Internal Audit function which performs a rigorous review of the payment file before any payment is finalised.
NSFAS is also establishing a dedicated Disbursement Unit for monthly reconciliations.
This unit seeks to ensure that all reconciliations are conducted and finalized on a monthly basis, thereby enhancing financial accountability, and efficiency in the disbursement process.
The Minister also announced the formation of a “war room” to coordinate communication and problem-solving. This “war room” is headed by the Minister and supported by members of several stakeholders in the higher education sector.
It was developed as a centralized communications and information exchange platform headed by the minister, serving as a vehicle for daily reporting on registration processes and challenges at institutions of higher education, as well as finding solutions.
Minister Nkabane added that a WhatsApp group was created to ensure efficient communication amongst representatives from DHET, CAMPROSA and NSFAS. University Registrars are added where issues require their urgent attention.
