
R5.1 billion of NSFAS money illegally allocated to students who don’t qualify for funding.
Students who do not meet the requirements for financial aid have been fraudulently funded with NSFAS funds totaling about R5.1 billion.
On Tuesday, 18 April 2023, The Minister of Higher Education appeared before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts to give members of parliament an update on probes into the National Skills Fund and NSFAS.
About 40 000 students who did not qualify for NSFAS were included, according to SIU Chief National Investigations Officer Leonard Lekgetho, to improperly benefit from the program.
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The report revealed the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has paid over R5 billion from 2018 to 2021 to students who did not qualify for bursaries.
“When you look at the total number of students, we are looking at 66 institutions and the number of students we are looking at 44 000.
“And when you look at the amount involved is R5.1 billion that has been paid to unqualified students. So that is where the investigation is currently looking at.”
“We are tracing all the students to identify them, interview them and look at the information they have provided when they apply for loans or bursaries.”



