Financial Exclusion Crisis Deepens As Ramaphosa’s SONA Sidesteps Student Debt

• President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2026 State of the Nation Address promised growth and reform, but did not present a clear plan to address financial exclusion at universities
• Research shows financial hardship harms academic performance, more than 110,000 qualified matriculants lack placement, and many enrolled students face blocks over historical debt
• Ongoing challenges at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and criticism from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana underscore a deepening higher education funding crisis

SOUTH AFRICA- President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) projected optimism: economic reform, infrastructure expansion and long-term growth. But for thousands of students blocked from registering because of unpaid fees or incomplete funding, the speech offered little reassurance.

Conspicuously absent was a clear, time-bound plan to tackle financial exclusion at universities, an issue that continues to derail academic careers across the country.

Access without funding is a broken promise

South Africa celebrated an 88% matric pass rate in 2025, with 345,857 learners qualifying for bachelor's studies. But public universities can only accommodate about 235,000 first-year students. That leaves more than 110,000 academically eligible young people without placement.

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Even for those who do secure admission, registration blocks linked to historical debt prevent many from continuing their studies.

Financial exclusion is not a side issue

A recent peer-reviewed study at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), led by Dr Sibonelo Thanda Mbanjwa, confirms what student movements have argued for years: financial hardship directly undermines academic success.

The cross-sectional study surveyed 220 undergraduate students, achieving a 90% response rate. While 61% were fully funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), 39% were either partially funded or self-funded — effectively operating on the margins of exclusion.

The NSFAS dilemma

The funding crisis is further complicated by governance concerns. South Africa is spending R700 million on NSFAS administration, money that does not go directly to students.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has publicly questioned the institution’s value as an administrative body, arguing that inefficiencies undermine its core mandate.

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Speaking at a post-budget event, he said the country is spending R700 million on administration alone, funds he argued could cover fees for approximately 9,000 students.

Godongwana clarified that while student funding is essential, the institution itself has struggled with mismanagement, leadership instability and reliance on external service providers to perform its core functions.

"Economic apartheid” at the gates

Briefly News contacted the Economic Freedom Fighters Youth Command, who described the situation as “economic apartheid by other means,” arguing that universities are reproducing inequality by denying financially distressed but academically capable students access.

Among its demands are the immediate registration for students with historical debt and a sustainable national debt cancellation framework. Universities routinely withhold registration and academic transcripts over outstanding balances. For working-class students, historical debt becomes a multi-year barrier to completion and employment.

The human cost

Briefly News spoke to Zama Mkhize, a previous student who was enrolled at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who knows this reality firsthand. Her parents did not qualify for NSFAS support, but they also could not afford tuition. She did not meet the strict academic thresholds required for private bursaries.

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“We were able to pay registration and the first term but as the year went on, the finances got harder and harder until I was forced to drop out due to non-payment,”she explains

Despite the setback, she has not abandoned her dream of earning a psychology degree.

“I thought maybe if I find a job and save up, one day I might be able to go back and fulfil my dream.”

A generation at risk

The contradiction is clear: the government celebrates improved matric outcomes and youth potential, yet fails to guarantee sustainable participation in higher education.

Yet SONA 2026 did not outline a comprehensive student debt framework, nor did it signal structural reform of university funding. That silence suggests financial exclusion is not being treated as a macroeconomic risk, despite its direct impact on human capital development.

Every student who drops out represents lost public investment and reduced future earnings potential for the economy.

3 Articles on student debt

• Cape Town-based musician Miché van der Rheede is hoping to graduate this year, but her student debt is an obstacle in her journey.
• An actuarial science student shared about his first major setback at university, when his initial funder withdrew support, leaving him with R106,000 in debt.
• Rapper AKA announced a Fees Must Fall Mega Concert to help students who are battling with student debt, donating R100 000 to a WITS university committee to assist with student debt.

Source: Briefly News