Parliament, Friday, 31 July 2026 – The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences and the Creative Industries, Mr Makhi Feni, has noted media reports of allegations surrounding the recently-appointed National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Administrator, Prof Hlengani Mathebula.
Mr Feni said Prof Mathebula was appointed to prevent precisely what he is alleged to be committing. “This is deeply concerning. Prof Mathebula was brought to the NSFAS so he could stabilise the entity, both in performance and financial expenditure. He is meant to work to resolve governance challenges through introducing internal controls that speak to the mandate of the entity.
“The NSAFS for too long has been drained by the middle men who are meant to distribute the fund for poor, vulnerable students. Instead, payment delays, monies going missing, challenges of accommodation became the order of the day.”
It is alleged that Prof Mathebula was living large on the NSFAS’s account at a time when challenges with students’ housing allowances have been reported in the media. Meanwhile in May, the NSFAS Board was dissolved, and the Auditor-General awarded NSFAS an adverse audit opinion. Prof Mathebula was then appointed as Administrator of the NSFAS.
Mr Feni also noted that the Minister of Higher Education, Mr Buti Manamela, would soon have to assess if the decision to appoint an administrator was worth it.
“The issue of governance challenges and improved performance by the NSFAS needs a serious debate in our country. But clearly we cannot support calls to shut the entity, yet. The focus needs to be stabilising NSFAS governance and ensuring students get their allowances without fail. NSFAS should be at a stage where it is able to locate its beneficiaries in the job market and start to raise funds for it operations. How will we ever get there if we are challenged for merely distributing to needy students who surely cannot be more than 500 000 at any given moment,” concluded Mr Feni.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, SCIENCES AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, MR MAKHI FENI.
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