Nsfas collapse demands complete overhaul, not just board changes

SA’s student funding system has reached a breaking point.

The recent decision by Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela to dissolve the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) board and place the institution under administration is not just another bureaucratic reshuffle – it is an admission that the system meant to lift students out of poverty is collapsing under its own weight.

Prof Hlengani Mathebula has been appointed as administrator. But the ousted board won’t take this lying down.

They are taking legal action, arguing the minister acted unlawfully by bypassing Section 4A of the Act, which requires prior consultation and a directive. Their challenge highlights the chaos in Nsfas.

For years, students have endured delayed allowances, missing payments and accommodation crises.

Now, with an R2 billion payment scandal from 2016 to 2021 hanging over the institution, the public is asking the obvious question: how did an institution created to help poor students become so dysfunctional?

The tragedy is that Nsfas is failing because it lacks accountability, planning and competence.

Every academic year begins with the same headlines: students sleeping outside campuses, universities threatening to block registration and young people anxiously waiting for funding confirmations that arrive too late – or never arrive at all.

Part of the problem is that the institution has become disconnected from universities and colleges.

Decisions are often made far away from campuses by officials who do not understand the practical realities students face. Universities end up cleaning up the mess while students carry the financial burden.

Corruption has also affected public trust. Billions meant for education have allegedly been siphoned away while students struggle to buy food and textbooks.

South Africans are right to be angry. In a country with massive youth unemployment, higher education is supposed to be one of the few ladders out of poverty. When that ladder collapses, desperation grows.

But simply changing the board will not solve the problem.

Nsfas needs a complete overhaul. First, there must be transparency. Students should be able to track applications and payments through a reliable digital system that actually works.

Second, universities and Tvet colleges need greater authority to manage certain funding processes directly because they are closer to students and better understand their needs.

Third, the government must professionalise the institution. Nsfas cannot continue to operate like a political deployment centre. It needs skilled financial managers, technology experts and administrators who are hired on merit.

There is also a bigger debate SA can no longer avoid: should student funding be handled through a completely new model?

Some analysts argue for a graduate tax system or incomecontingent loans similar to systems used internationally.

Others believe the answer lies in decentralising the current model. What is clear is that the present arrangement is not sustainable.

The danger for the government is that student frustration can become political instability. If young people lose faith in the system, the consequences will extend far beyond campuses.

Nsfas was created to open doors for the poor. Instead, too many students now see it as another locked gate.

The question is no longer whether reform is needed, but whether the government has the political courage to rebuild the system before another generation is failed.