Johannesburg – An audit of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has reportedly uncovered serious governance and financial control failures, including the payment of bursaries to 822 students recorded as deceased, as well as thousands of others who did not qualify for funding.
According to Times Live, the Auditor-General’s findings also showed that students with household incomes above the eligibility thresholds, those who had failed their studies, or those who already held qualifications continued to receive NSFAS support.
The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has raised concern over the findings, saying the payment of financial aid to deceased individuals reflects a serious breakdown in governance and accountability.
It also criticised weak system integration, questioning how NSFAS failed to properly link its databases with Home Affairs and other government systems.
“This shocking disclosure is not merely an administrative failure, but a betrayal of the aspirations of young people who depend on NSFAS for access to higher education,” said ANCYL secretary-general Tsakani Shiviti, according to The Citizen.
Shiviti added: “The continued payment to deceased individuals points to a systemic breakdown in governance, oversight, and consequence management.”
In response, Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela has directed investigations and corrective action, describing the situation as a deep crisis in governance and service delivery.
“These findings mean funding allocations intended for poor and working-class students were diverted, whether through system failures, misrepresentation fraud,” the report quoted the minister as saying.
He added: “These violations of the basic dignity of young people who came to study, not to survive a housing crisis created by the state’s own dysfunction.”
Manamela said efforts will be made to investigate, recover misallocated funds, improve verification systems, and protect genuine beneficiaries.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
