The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) faced serious challenges in April 2024. These included failing to pay student allowances on time, lacking sufficient internal capacity, and not following recommendations from the Werksmans Report.
In response, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande took decisive action. He dismissed the NSFAS board and appointed Freeman Nomvalo as the scheme's Administrator for 12 months.
Nomvalo's taskis clear: ensure timely student allowances, address NSFAS shortcomings by building capacity, and evaluate potential changes to the NSFAS Act for better efficiency and effectiveness.
Minister Nzimande emphasised the need for a stronger NSFAS board.
NSFAS is a massive operation dealing with R50 billion. The board needs to be composed of highly qualified individuals. It's become evident that this wasn't the case previously.
Boosting Support for the Administrator
Nomvalo announced the appointment of additional support personnel to assist with various aspects of his mandate. These new resources will work alongside NSFAS executives in critical areas like finance, information technology (ICT), student accommodation, and operations. These areas were highlighted by the Minister as concerns needing immediate attention.
The newly appointed support team will focus on resolving these urgent issues and improving NSFAS's operational efficiency.
"We've finalised the governance framework for the Administration to ensure more transparency and objective decision-making," Nomvalo announced.
This framework aims to increase accountability and streamline administrative processes.
Nomvalo emphasised that over the next three weeks, efforts will focus on building capacity within various structures. This will ensure the effective execution of the governance framework.
To fulfil the Administrator's mandate and address capacity deficiencies, additional resources will be acquired by the end of the month. This includes dealing with long-standing matters like overdue financial statements and the Close Out Report.
