The Higher Education and Training Portfolio Committee has called on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to ensure that all eligible students receive the financial assistance they are entitled to for the 2025 academic year. Chairperson Tebogo Letsie emphasized the importance of due diligence in processing applications, following reports of students being wrongfully defunded in 2024. “We want NSFAS to ensure that all students who qualify for funding are supported,” Letsie said, addressing journalists during a media briefing in Parliament on Thursday. He pointed out that some students had been defunded midway through the academic year, causing significant emotional distress and mental health issues.
The committee also noted that the Special Investigating Unit was actively investigating those who had wrongfully benefitted from the scheme, with efforts underway to recoup the misallocated funds. While the full implementation of NSFAS’s comprehensive funding model is still in the works, Letsie explained that the existing bursary and loan scheme, designed for the “missing middle” students, would be ready to support eligible students in the coming year. NSFAS opened its 2025 application window in September and closed it in December, receiving more than 936,000 applications. Of those, over 678,000 students were provisionally funded, contingent on securing a place at a tertiary institution, with an impressive 659,000 of them being beneficiaries of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
The committee chair also highlighted concerns regarding the timing of the release of matric results, which has caused disruptions in the start of the academic year for many higher learning institutions. With some TVET colleges opening on January 13, and matric results only becoming available the following day, students faced delays in securing places at their institutions. Furthermore, certain health science universities had already opened on January 2, leaving students eager to study medicine scrambling to catch up after the late release of results. “We are looking to have discussions with the Portfolio Committee on Education and the relevant ministries to find a workable solution,” Letsie stated, underscoring the urgency of resolving this timing issue.
Another challenge faced by the Department of Higher Education is the struggle to meet graduation and admission targets in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Letsie pointed out that despite efforts, the department has not been able to produce sufficient matriculants with the necessary qualifications in mathematics and science to meet the demand for skilled graduates in these critical areas. He called for collaboration between the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education to develop strategies that can better support students in STEM subjects, including improving how educators are trained at universities. “If we need to revisit how we train educators in STEM subjects, we must do so,” he said.
The committee also raised concerns about governance issues at the University of Limpopo, urging Minister for Higher Education and Training, Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane, to appoint an independent assessor to investigate the institution’s management, governance, and human resources practices. Letsie explained that the committee was not seeking to place the university under administration but rather to address allegations of mismanagement and irregular appointments. These include concerns about the prolonged tenure of the Vice-Chancellor, the continued leadership of the Council Chair beyond two successive terms, and the lack of elections for the Institutional Forum since 2017. Additionally, the committee flagged issues of wasteful resource usage and legal cases the university had lost in court.
In November, the committee had met with the university, but was dissatisfied with the responses it received, prompting further follow-up requests that went unanswered. Letsie revealed that whistle-blowers had come forward with additional reports of maladministration, further intensifying the committee’s concerns. “We are exploring mechanisms to ensure accountability and transparency at the University of Limpopo,” Letsie added, as the committee seeks to hold the institution to account and ensure proper governance practices moving forward.
