LEARNING CURVEBALL: President Ramaphosa ‘deeply concerned’ about ongoing NSFAS crisis

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed concern about the crisis at NSFAS, but says he is awaiting a full briefing from Minister Buti Manamela after the Gauteng High Court ruling ordered the suspension of administrator Hlengani Mathebula.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed deep concern over the ongoing crisis at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), following Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela’s decision to place the troubled scheme under administration.

Ramaphosa appointed Manamela as higher education minister after axing disgraced Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, who attempted to appoint ANC politicians as chairpersons of the 21 different Seta boards.

On Friday, 14 August, the high court ordered that Manamela reinstate the NSFAS board and suspend administrator Hlengani Mathebula.

The President’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said, “The President is deeply concerned about the situation at NSFAS. The governance and financial stability of this institution is vital in the promotion and enablement of access to higher education by millions of deserving young people who ordinarily would never afford to access higher education. Therefore, NSFAS will be stabilised so that it can deliver on its mandate.

“The high court decision was delivered this past Friday as the President was commencing with SADC-related activities. The President is yet to receive a full briefing on the judgment and its implications and is yet to discuss the matter with the minister. Therefore, it will be premature to comment at this stage,” said Magwenya.

The Higher Education Portfolio Committee chair, Tebogo Letsie, also addressed Manamela’s flawed reading of the NSFAS Act, telling Daily Maverick that the department had been given until Friday to produce the legal advice it relied upon.

Letsie explained that the minister claimed to have relied on departmental advice, adding that the committee had instructed the department to submit those advisory documents by Friday. He noted that section 17C of the Act is unambiguous, making it unacceptable to apply the section selectively when referring to administrators versus advisers.

Letsie added that the committee had sought guidance from parliamentary legal experts on how to address unauthorised payments, pointing out that paying individuals who are not legally entitled to funds constitutes a criminal offence. He confirmed that the officials involved are being reported to their respective professional bodies for investigation, emphasising that all misallocated public money must be recovered.

An analysis of three Government Gazettes shows that Manamela’s notice appointing administrator Mathebula excluded section 17C of the NSFAS Act, departing from the precedents set by his predecessors, Dr Naledi Pandor and Dr Blade Nzimande .

The crisis at NSFAS long predates Manamela and his predecessor, Nkabane. When Nkabane took office, the scheme was under its second administration, led by Freeman Nomvalo. Nkabane subsequently appointed an 18-member board and named Waseem Carrim as acting CEO.