Calls for the resignation of the Minster of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, continue following the discovery of R5.1 billion worth of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds that were wrongfully allocated to students exceeding the household income threshold of R350,000.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Student Command in the North West Province is calling for the dismissal of The Minister following a report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The report was presented during a briefing to Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts and revealed that over 40,000 students across 76 institutions received funding from the bursary scheme despite exceeding the income threshold.
EFF Student Command's Provincial Secretary, Senzo Hlazo, calls for the dismissal of Nzimande due to his close relationship with the African National Congress (ANC), Cosatu and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
It is proof to our long-standing argument that there are deeply rooted maladministration and corruption in NSFAS, which prohibits the deserving students from poor backgrounds to access financial assistance from the scheme. This report further proves that we don’t have a competent minister in the Department of Higher Education and Training. We, therefore, call upon the President to release Minister Blade Nzimande from his duties.
This discovery found corruption that dates all the way back to 2017. The students who were wrongfully funded did not provide their parents' details when completing the means test, however, they received funding, and in some cases overfunding, regardless.
For the 2023 academic year, NSFAS provided funding to over 1 million students, more than any other year. Due to the unlawful funding of thousands of students, there are now too many students to fund and those who are actually deserving of the bursary are not able to pursue or continue their studies.
This is not the first time the organisation has been under fire for allegations of corruption. In 2021, it was discovered that "ghost students" were receiving bursaries from NSFAS, leaving qualifying students without funding. NSFAS could not determine if these students were real, and were paying students who did not exist.
The SIU's investigation concluded that flaws in the NSFAS IT system meant that universities were unable to identify fraudulent applications. This is because the organisation's system is not connected to South African Revenue Services (SARS) or Home Affairs.
So far, unused funds of only R38 million have been recovered from institutions, however, the SIU will be investigating each case individually until the total has been accounted for. The investigation is ongoing.
