To download the soundbite of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Mr Tebogo Letsie, click here: https://iono.fm/e/1509453
Parliament, Thursday, 5 December 2024 – The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has finally submitted its long overdue 2022/23 annual report to Parliament. The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education yesterday met with the NSFAS and the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (MERSETA) to discuss their annual reports. The Office of the Auditor-General was also in attendance and provided the two entities’ audit outcomes.
Organisational deficiencies at NSFAS led to the dissolution of the board, an inability to submit its annual report to Parliament, and later saw the entity placed under administration. The Minster of Higher Education, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, told the committee that although NSFAS has experienced leadership instability, the submission of the annual report is a step in the right direction, even though the report does not inspire confidence.
Meanwhile, Dr Nkabane also said that her department has received nominations for individuals to serve on the NSFAS board and is working hard to ensure boards are in place.
The Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Mr Tebogo Letsie, said, “NSFAS is too big to fail and some of us would not have seen the doors of higher education had it not been for NSFAS. The entity is the hope for thousands of current students and will remain the only hope for future students.”
Mr Letsie further said, “And you, not having accounted for funds you were given, make it hard for the committee to appropriate monies when there is no proper accountability. We don’t want a situation where NSFAS says a student deserves funding and there is not enough funding, yet there is a billion rand in wasteful expenditure incurred by the entity.”
The committee also expressed concerns regarding MERSETA’s performance, noting that the organisation received a qualified audit opinion for the second consecutive year, according to the Auditor-General’s findings. During discussions with MERSETA’s Board Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, the committee identified issues such as inadequate consequence management and the board’s ineffectiveness in strengthening internal controls. Additionally, the committee highlighted shortcomings in project management and a lack of effective coordination between MERSETA’s finance and operations departments.
To address these issues, the committee will closely monitor MERSETA’s efforts to enhance its internal controls and ensure better coordination across departments.
The committee is confident that the start of the 2025 academic year will be incident-free, as the committee met stakeholders last week who assured the committee that all systems are in place to support returning and first-year students.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING, MR TEBOGO LETSIE.
For media enquiries please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Jabulani Majozi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 083 358 5224
E-mail: jamajozi@parliament.gov.za
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