The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) is reclaiming R112 million from National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) beneficiaries who were not qualified to receive the funds.
A total of 421 students from five universities and four TVET colleges, who were ineligible for Nsfas funding, have signed agreements to repay the funds they received in error. The total amount covered by these acknowledgment of debt (AoD) agreements is R112,174,825.97.
The irregular disbursements occurred due to Nsfas’ failure to effectively plan and implement controls that ensure annual reconciliation between the funds allocated to institutions and the amounts distributed to students. This led to discrepancies, including both overpayments and underpayments, from 2017 to the present.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago expressed satisfaction with the cooperation of parents and ineligible Nsfas beneficiaries who have agreed to repay the funds over time. He encouraged those who have not yet come forward to contact the SIU and arrange repayment.
Kganyago also noted that beyond the AoDs, the SIU has made significant progress in recovering unallocated funds. Recently, the University of Fort Hare returned R277 million in unallocated funds, bringing the total recoveries to R1,165,887,062.
The recovered amounts from various institutions include:
- West Coast College: R5,057,679.00
- NorthLink College: R33,369,404.97
- Walter Sisulu University: R19,900,174.00
- Nkangala TVET: R342,672.50
- University of Mpumalanga: R33,668,138.19
- University of Zululand: R58,088,144.65
- University of Fort Hare: R277,666,450.00
- University of Pretoria: R400,000,000.00
- Majuba TVET College: R25,902,309.31
- University of Johannesburg: R311,892,088.94
Nsfas has engaged a service provider to assist with ongoing reconciliation through a ‘close-out reporting’ process.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr. Mimmy Gondwe, praised the recovery of the R112 million in irregular payments. She highlighted that these funds, misallocated to undeserving recipients, could have supported approximately 1,700 deserving students for an academic year. She emphasized that every rand spent on ineligible beneficiaries deprives deserving students of necessary funding, potentially forcing them to drop out or defer their studies due to financial constraints.