An investigation into NSFAS’s past student funding operations has found discrepancies once again. In this investigation, universities and TVET colleges with outstanding payments to the scheme are the focus.
NSFAS Expected To Recover Millions From Universities & Colleges
In a recent investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), it was discovered that the bursary scheme funded over 40 000 undeserving students to the tune of R5 billion over the past few years.According to the SIU, the students were enrolled in over 70 institutions between 2018 and 2021.
NSFAS has been repaid by some institutions so far. Kaizer Kganyago, spokesperson for SIU, pointed out that this is a separate matter, as these funds were intended for students who either deregistered or changed institutions. According to Kganyago, these funds were supposed to be returned within a year by reconciliation, but remained in the institutions’ possession for the past five years.
- As part of the reconciliation process, NSFAS was supposed to say, at the end of each year, “We have given you so much money for this many students, let’s see how many have registered, subtract the amount of those that have registered and studied, then return the remainder and fund the next group.
Accordingly, NSFAS has appointed a service provider called “close-out reporting” to assist in its reconciliation efforts.Furthermore, Kganyago stated that they expect to recover over R1 billion from five implicated institutions and recover any accumulated interest.
To expedite the investigation, the SIU has also requested that all implicated institutions return these unallocated funds voluntarily.In accordance with the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act 74 of 1996, the SIU will also report any evidence of criminal activity to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).Higher education institutions are expected to continue paying back unallocated funds to NSFAS as the SIU investigation continues.After a year of investigation, the SIU plans to provide the President with an interim report.