NSFAS funds abused by wealthy families

Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has decried what he described as the exploitation and abuse of the government’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) student stipend by learners from wealthy families.

He reiterated that the fund was established by the State to assist needy students, especially those from disadvantaged households.

But according to Nzimande, the NSFAS funds are being accessed by unscrupulous wealthy families who can afford to take their children through higher education at universities of their choice at their expense, therefore, they are fraudulently stealing from the fund.

Nzimande decried the fact that as a result of the rampant abuse of the NSFAS funds, scores of deserving disadvantaged families are being deprived government offered the means to pay for the higher education of their children.

Addressing delegates during the recent 2022 Financial Scheme Funding, Nzimande disclosed that an amount of R47.3b was allocated by the Treasury to the Department of Higher Education for the NSFAS scheme. This followed a shortfall experienced by the Higher Education Department for the 2022 academic year to cover both the TVET colleges and public universities.

Nzimande pointed out that to date, over 70 000 students have already been funded through the NSFAS scheme and that it came as a shock to his ministry that the fund was now for personal gain.

“It must be emphasised that NSFAS is not a social grant, but an education grant aimed at assisting students from working class and poor families to access university and college education. It is meant for educational purposes and nothing else, and it must be used solely and only for such purposes,” said Nzimande.

Nzimande also raised the issue of students who use the NSFAS student grant funds to support their families.

Although he said he sympathised with these students, he added that his department was aware that a largepercentage of students enrolled in institutions of higher learning are from disadvantaged families and that as a result, many of them use their NSFAS stipend to financially support their families.

He explained that this was a gross violation of the rules governing the issuing of the grant.

The minister warned that this practice was illegal and that it was not allowed as the obligation was upon the student to use the NSFAS grant for the purpose the funds were granted for.

He said the government will step in, to take full involvement in the distribution of the funds and to deal with those who are defrauding the system.

“We cannot allow NSFAS money to be abused. Those abusing it must be nailed because they are stealing from the poor. They are too many. I know someone who is a very successful senior official in government and his wife is a matron in a hospital. Their children are getting an NSFAS grant. Why?”

Nzimande has warned that all those involved in fraud in the NSFAS programme will be severely dealt with by law enforcement. Members of the public have been asked to expose all existing fraudulent schemes.”