“I Don’t Agree With This”: Mzansi Divided Over Proposal for SARS to Deduct NSFAS Debt From Salaries

• A Rhodes University professor proposed that SARS automatically deduct NSFAS repayments from graduates' salaries once they enter the workforce
• The proposal comes as public universities are collectively owed more than R10.5 billion in unpaid student debt and delayed NSFAS payments
• South Africans pushed back hard online, with many arguing graduates face unemployment and that NSFAS corruption should be tackled first

South Africans are fiercely debating a proposal that would see the South African Revenue Service automatically recover NSFAS debt directly from graduates' pay cheques.

Professor Sioux McKenna, Director of the Centre for Postgraduate Studies at Rhodes University, put forward the idea on 24 August 2026. Under the plan, SARS would collaborate with NSFAS and public universities to deduct proportional repayments from a graduate's salary once they are employed, with the amount scaling upward as their income grows. The model would remove the need for former students to set up voluntary stop orders or remember to make manual payments.

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The crisis driving the proposal

According to a report, the suggestion comes amid a deepening financial emergency in South Africa's higher education sector. Public universities are collectively owed more than R10.5 billion in outstanding student debt and delayed NSFAS disbursements.

The University of the Free State carries roughly R1 billion in debt, while North-West University is owed approximately R1.2 billion. Institutions absorbing that kind of cash-flow pressure have struggled to release accommodation and meal funding to current students who depend on it.

NSFAS's role has also expanded well beyond tuition over the years, now covering housing, food, and textbooks, effectively becoming a primary income source for some households. Critics argue that broader structural reform is needed alongside any automated recovery mechanism, including splitting tuition funding from living allowances, if the higher education funding model is to survive long term.

Mzansi pushes back

The proposal landed with a thud for many South Africans online, who questioned its fairness and whether corruption within NSFAS itself was being ignored. See the post that sparked the debate below.

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@minenhle__nene wrote:

"Morally, I don't agree with this."

@mkhugcay said:

"'Free education' 🤷‍♂️"

@queerintech_ pointed out:

"We were unemployed that time."

@nomvuyongema_ argued:

"While politicians get to loot funds and get away with it??? People are also paying TAX for goodness sake; now y'all want to take more?"

@malizney said:

"No, as a taxpayer who won't get their tax back I say no. Isn't NSFAS funded by tax money? I'd rather have my money go towards that (which has already) instead of sponsoring government officials' already overly subsidised lifestyles."

@sabrina_letoaba suggested:

"Can SARS start investigating missing funds at NSFAS?"

@_umamthethwa added:

"They need to remove all the ghosts that are 'receiving' NSFAS."

More on SARS and South African tax news

• Briefly News recently reported that SARS introduced a mandatory online customs declaration system requiring all travellers entering or leaving South Africa to submit their details before travelling.
• Somizi Mhlongo reportedly faced a nearly R20 million SARS tax bill after the revenue collector secured a default judgment against the media personality.
• A South African accountant was left stunned after SARS blocked his R323,000 tax refund, but the reason behind the decision eventually came to light.

Source: Briefly News