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| Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande. PHOTO: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images |
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has appointed Professor Lourens Van Staden as acting chairperson of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to stand in for Ernest Khosa, who has taken a 30-day leave of absence. The announcement comes amid calls for his resignation owing to ongoing corruption and maladministration allegations. Van Staden is a former vice-chancellor of Tshwane University of Technology and was appointed administrator of the troubled Mangosuthu University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal in 2022.
NSFAS has been controversial over the past year following its move to appoint service providers to disburse funds directly to students. CEO Andile Nongogo was fired in October following investigations into claims he had a conflict of interest in selecting the service providers. Nzimande said Van Staden would oversee the appointment of a new CEO and “fully implement the Werksmans Report that NSFAS commissioned to look at corruption and other shenanigans that were taking place, especially the service providers who are providing allowances to students.”
The Department of Higher Education and Innovation, along with NSFAS, has agreed to increase funding for the 11% of South African households in the “missing middle,” those with an income of between R300,000 and R600,000 per year who earn too much to qualify for NSFAS funding but struggle to pay for higher education. The Comprehensive Student Funding Model that addresses the missing middle is an extension of the existing NSFAS scheme and will be rolled out in two phases. Phase one begins this year, 2024/2025, where R3.8 billion will be allocated to support the missing middle with loans to further their studies.
Nzimande made projections for phase two, which would proceed from 2025/26, where about R3.1 billion to R4.2 billion would be added annually to the scheme’s budget for over ten years. The department continually engages with public and private financial institutions to expand NSFAS.
While the final criteria for funding are still in works, Nzimande outlined several aspects: students must be from a household that receives an income of between R350,000 and R600,000; students studying in public colleges, Tvet colleges, and public universities can qualify; both undergraduate and postgraduate students will receive funding; 75% of funding will be allocated to students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, which might be adjusted to include students studying towards qualifications in commerce or entrepreneurial programs. Thirty percent will be allocated to humanities programs; all qualifying students must be willing to sign a loan agreement; students can apply each year of study to continue receiving the loan, though conditions will apply; and students must achieve a 60% average to receive the loan and continue receiving the loan.
Karabo Khakhau, the Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister of higher education, said that the rollout of this new plan is expected to be more confusing than expected due to the failure of the current entity to administer its current load.
