PRETORIA – Pressure is mounting on Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela following a Public Protector briefing on the investigation into alleged maladministration at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

The minister has come under increasing fire in recent months over his handling of the troubled funding scheme, with concerns ranging from governance and financial management to student payments and the administration of NSFAS.

The investigation by the Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, found that more than 40 000 students were improperly funded, involving about R5,1 billion. The briefing also indicated that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) uncovered widespread fraud and improper payments within the student funding system.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said the findings were significant and added to growing concerns about NSFAS under Manamela’s watch.

“The ongoing controversies, investigations, failed administrations and the lack of answers to Parliament point to a breakdown at NSFAS,” the party said.

The pressure follows a recent High Court judgment in which Manamela’s appointment of Professor Hlengani Mathebula as NSFAS administrator was suspended. The court also found the minister’s decision to appoint Mathebula irrational, dealing a further blow to his handling of the scheme.

The DA said the Public Protector had also placed Manamela under a deadline to implement remedial action, increasing pressure on the minister.

The party has called for the national structure of NSFAS to be scrapped and replaced with a decentralised model in which higher education and training institutions would administer student funding directly.

“The large and expensive national management of NSFAS has been a failed experiment,” the DA said.

However, the Department of Higher Education and Training said the problems identified by the Public Protector were longstanding and had already been recognised by the minister.

The department said the findings were consistent with concerns raised in a report submitted to Manamela earlier this month by the NSFAS administrator, which identified several areas requiring urgent intervention.

In March, following a meeting with the Auditor-General of South Africa, Manamela raised concerns about NSFAS’s financial management and governance. The Auditor-General had issued a disclaimer of opinion after finding that the scheme’s accounting records and supporting evidence were so inadequate that the reliability of its financial statements could not be determined.

The department said Manamela’s decision to place NSFAS under administration was intended to stabilise the institution, strengthen governance and financial management, address systemic weaknesses and restore its ability to fulfil its mandate.

Manamela has welcomed the Public Protector’s investigation and said he would continue to co-operate with the process and consider any further findings and recommendations.

The department said the ultimate priority remained ensuring that students receive the financial support they need to access and complete their higher education without being hampered by administrative failures.

The Public Protector’s final report is expected to determine whether further action is required.

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