Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela Discusses NSFAS Woes After Chair Resignation

GAUTENG— The Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, has kick-started a process that will question the National Student Financial Aid Scheme board’s legislative right to operate. NSFAS’ interim chairperson, Mugwena Maluleke, resigned on 27 April 2026.

According to TimesLIVE, Manamela noted that the number of resignations in NSFAS has affected the board’s voting power, and, consequently, its capacity to operate lawfully. He has called on board members to provide input in a formal process he initiated to determine its operation within the legislative framework.

Buti Manamela discusses next steps

Manamela remarked that this will be followed by a step that will ensure a full and considered assessment is conducted before action is taken. He said, however, that NSFAS continues to function without disruption and its operational process remains undisturbed and is constantly monitored for stability and continuity.

NSFAS’s battle with accommodation providers

Board member resignations are not the only challenges NSFAS has recently faced. The financial aid scheme recently faced allegations of non-payment from accommodation providers from Kroonstad in the Free State. This was after Manamela announced on 25 March that accommodation providers would be subjected to an audit. One of the Kroonstad-based accommodation providers told Briefly News that NSFAS had not paid them for months, an allegation NSFAS denied.

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NSFAS has also faced issues of financial mismanagement. Manamela also revealed that over 800 dead NSFAS students were still receiving funds from NSFAS. Manamela said a report by the Auditor-General revealed that 822 students whom the Department of Home Affairs declared dead were receiving bursaries. The report also stated that 321 students were also receiving Social Relief of Distress grant payouts.

Source: Briefly News