Staff Reporter.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Administrator, Freeman Nomvalo, says the scheme has been able to constantly process payments for all the beneficiaries who have submitted their banking details.
Addressing the media on the developments in the implementation of his mandate on Tuesday, Nomvalo highlighted that one of the urgent interventions made by the new Administrator was to migrate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) NSFAS beneficiaries into a direct payment system through their banker.
This follows frustrations experienced by students in receiving their allowances.
Nomvalo said from the data received, about 6% of students are not receiving their allowance because they either failed the verification process due to incorrect information they provided, while some did not capture their banking details.
He said despite various efforts made by NSFAS to get these students to capture their banking details, the students have not responded.
“There are possible two scenarios; one that, these students have no means to reach us, possibly the messages did not reach them or regrettably, some of these could be non-existent students. What is more worrying is that to date we have not received complaints from students who may have not received their allowances, “Nomvalo said.
He said NSFAS will continue to engage with institutions and students to submit their details for their allowances to be paid in the next payment run, while investigating the validity and existence of these students.
On the university payments, Nomvalo reported that the administration has taken a decision to extend the current arrangement with universities facilitating payment of allowances to NSFAS beneficiaries.
He said the arrangement, which follows consultations with the South Africa Universities South Africa (USAF), is extended until the end of the 2024 academic year.
“This decision arrived in response to USAF and in support of the beneficiaries, as well as the stability of the Post School Education and Training (PSET) system,” Nomvalo said.
The Administrator added that the scheme also intends to migrate the university allowances to a more cost effective and efficient payment system.
“The planning for the migration of universities was halted by the interdict warded in favour of Ezaga and others by the Western Cape High Court on 12 July 2024, which NSFAS is appealing,” he said.
Roadshows
NSFAS will be hosting roadshows across the country to engage directly with the landlords affected by outstanding payments of student accommodation allowances.
The Administrator announced that the roadshows will kick off in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday, 07 August 2024.
“I will be taking all critical functions responsible for student data and private student accommodation. I have also extended invitations to our colleagues at universities and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, to ensure we all work together in resolving these challenges experienced by our beneficiaries and the landlords,” Nomvalo said.
Procurement irregularities
The Administrator announced that NSFAS is following up on various alleged procurement irregularities, including the direct payment mechanism.
Nomvalo acknowledged the support provided by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) regarding this issue.
“To address capacity challenges in the Procurement Unit, I am currently engaged with the National Treasury with the intention of drawing in a secondment from Treasury for the period of six months to also help us with the review of SCM (Supply chain management) policies, as well as procurement processes at NSFAS,” Nomvalo said.
Fruitless and wasteful expenditure registers
The Administrator further announced that the scheme has put measures in place for the 2024/25 financial year, to implement the irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful expenditure registers.
“We will also implement the non-compliance register. These registers will not only ensure compliance with the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act) but will also enhance transparency on the use of public resources by NSFAS,” Nomvalo said.