NSFAS defends role after finance minister questions need for it

The acting CEO of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has doubled down on promises made by the entity earlier this year that it is taking steps to stabilise.

At a media briefing in January, the scheme's leadership admitted to past challenges but said early funding decisions and improved planning would help students access financial support.

The NSFAS executive made the comments following funding and accommodation delays that sparked protests last year.

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Speaking to 702, Waseem Carrim says there are a myriad of reasons behind the difficulties faced by the entity.

"Of course, the 2017 decision to move NSFAS away from being a loan-based to a bursary-based organisation is probably the most fundamental."

Carrim admits that demand for higher education has far exceeded the capacity of NSFAS and describes how that demand has left the entity in a position of having to 'rob Peter to pay Paul'.

"That structural issue really leads to a lot of downstream impact, inefficiencies, ineffectiveness and really a breakage of trust within the higher education ecosystem."

And, he admits, NSFAS has had many issues with its own ability to manage the fund itself.

"Lots of issues with governance, systems issues, fraud and corruption."

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Carrim says NSFAS has introduced clearer planning timelines for this academic year, working with universities and TVET colleges to coordinate funding decisions and student registrations.

The aim, he says, is to reduce uncertainty and help institutions prepare earlier.

"We've tried to do much better for 2026 in terms of confirming funding decisions, releasing disbursments on time, accommodation places, and to a large extent, except for a few bumps and bruises, we've had a relatively stable start to the 2026 academic year."

Carrim insists the scheme still plays a key role in managing student applications and distributing financial support.

That's despite recent comments by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who questioned whether the entity should continue to exist.

"NSFAS is supposed to be paying universities for student accommodation and everything else, but in turn, they have employed three other service providers to provide the service they were created to do. Why should we keep them?' said Godongwana.

But Carrim suggests the minister's comments are misguided and recently told the Daily Maverick, "NSFAS is important because there’s no other organisation that has a central application system that does the allocation to institutions, both universities and TVET, and that manages the disbursements. So, that capacity doesn’t exist anywhere else. So, if you were to take NSFAS away, I would say we know the capacity at TVET is lacking."

To listen to Carrim in conversation with 702's John Perlman, use the audio player below: