ActionSA Students Chapter welcomes the call by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, to scrap the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and to redirect student funding directly to institutions of higher learning.
For years, students across South Africa have suffered the consequences of mismanagement, corruption, and administrative failures within NSFAS. These issues have led to late payments, academic exclusions, hunger, and unnecessary stress for students who simply want the chance to continue their education
The Minister’s proposal presents an important opportunity to overhaul a system that has long failed those it was intended to help.
ActionSA believes that redirecting funding directly to institutions will:
- Reduce corruption and maladministration by removing intermediaries that have repeatedly failed students.
- Improve the efficiency of processing allowances and tuition payments.
- Increase accountability, with institutions able to track and manage financial aid more transparently.
- Provide stability for students who will no longer be affected by ongoing delays and system failures.
ActionSA remains committed to advocating for a funding model that upholds students’ dignity, access and success. While we welcome the Minister’s call, we urge the government to consult with student organisations, institutions and civil society to ensure that any new model is fair, effective and sustainable.
We will not allow another generation of young people to be trapped by a system that has collapsed beyond repair. For too long, the scheme has been a breeding ground for political interference, incompetence and theft, while students bear the consequences. They have been denied allowances, excluded from academic programmes, pushed into hunger and driven into depression because the system has become a playground for the corrupt. This must end.
ActionSA will not accept excuses, delays or political protection for those who have profited from students’ suffering. It is time for accountability, clean governance and a new approach to student funding.
We stand ready to contribute constructively to this process and to ensure that every deserving student receives the support they need, free from corruption, delays and political interference.
ActionSA Students Chapter Welcomes Finance Minister’s Call to Scrap NSFAS
ActionSA Students Chapter welcomes the call by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, to scrap the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and to redirect student funding directly to institutions of higher learning.
For years, students across South Africa have suffered the consequences of mismanagement, corruption, and administrative failures within NSFAS. These issues have led to late payments, academic exclusions, hunger, and unnecessary stress for students who simply want the chance to continue their education
The Minister’s proposal presents an important opportunity to overhaul a system that has long failed those it was intended to help.
ActionSA believes that redirecting funding directly to institutions will:
ActionSA remains committed to advocating for a funding model that upholds students’ dignity, access and success. While we welcome the Minister’s call, we urge the government to consult with student organisations, institutions and civil society to ensure that any new model is fair, effective and sustainable.
We will not allow another generation of young people to be trapped by a system that has collapsed beyond repair. For too long, the scheme has been a breeding ground for political interference, incompetence and theft, while students bear the consequences. They have been denied allowances, excluded from academic programmes, pushed into hunger and driven into depression because the system has become a playground for the corrupt. This must end.
ActionSA will not accept excuses, delays or political protection for those who have profited from students’ suffering. It is time for accountability, clean governance and a new approach to student funding.
We stand ready to contribute constructively to this process and to ensure that every deserving student receives the support they need, free from corruption, delays and political interference.