The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] notes the ruling by the Pretoria High Court reinstating the dissolved NSFAS Board and declaring the appointment of Professor Hlengani Mathebula as Administrator at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme [NSFAS] irrational.
The decision by the Pretoria High Court follows an application by former NSFAS Board members challenging the decision of the Minister of Higher Education and Training to dissolve the Board and replace it with an Administrator.
As NEHAWU, we had strongly cautioned the Minister that he ought to have consulted the union before appointing an Administrator at the Scheme. Our point of departure was based on the fact that NSFAS finds itself in its current quagmire as a result of previous Administrators who plunged the Scheme into a deplorable state of governance and administration.
The union has consistently highlighted governance challenges at NSFAS, ranging from rampant maladministration to poor governance and weak administration within the institution. The Scheme continues to lurch from one crisis to another, which has, in essence, compromised both NSFAS and the broader post-school education and training [PSET] sector.
This has contributed to the numerous challenges confronting the sector, including financial and academic exclusion, inadequate student funding, student accommodation challenges, maladministration and corruption, among others.
Recently, NSFAS has once again found itself in the headlines following allegations of wasteful expenditure by the NSFAS Administrator. It is alleged that the Administrator has been spending public funds without the approval of the Minister of Finance, as required by legislation. This reportedly includes the appointment of four technical advisors at a cost of R10 million per year, as well as accommodation and travel expenses amounting to R200 000 in just over a month since his appointment.
In noting the ruling by the Pretoria High Court, the union once again reiterates its call for stability and proper governance at NSFAS to ensure that the mandate of the Scheme is implemented without fail. The stabilisation of NSFAS requires urgent attention, particularly against the backdrop of the systemic and governance crisis confronting both the Scheme and the broader PSET sector. The Department of Higher Education and Training must urgently exercise its oversight responsibility over NSFAS as a national public entity.
The Scheme remains a critical component in the transformation of the higher education sector. Equally, NSFAS remains an important instrument in the realisation of free, quality education for poor and working-class students.
Lastly, as a union organising in the higher education sector, we remain more than ready to contribute towards the stabilisation of the Scheme. We want to see NSFAS functioning properly, operating in a stable environment and developing into a capable institution that can effectively serve as a vehicle for expanding access to higher education.
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Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat.
Zola Saphetha (General Secretary) at 082 558 5968; Welcome Mnisi (1st Deputy General Secretary) at 082 455 2897; Baxolise Mali (2nd Deputy General Secretary) at 066 305 0591 or Lwazi Nkolonzi (NEHAWU National Spokesperson) at 081 558 2335 or email: lwazin@nehawu.org.za