The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) welcomes the announcement that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has recovered R1.7 billion in unallocated funds from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which will now be redirected to support students at higher education institutions across the country. This recovery represents an important step towards reclaiming public resources that must be used to advance access to education for working-class and poor students, for whom higher education remains the only pathway out of poverty, unemployment, and social exclusion.
The recovered funds relate to monies that were left unallocated between 2016 and 2021 after students who had qualified for NSFAS funding either changed institutions or deregistered. As a result, these resources remained unused for several years while thousands of students were excluded from higher education or forced to study under severe financial hardship. This situation unfolded against a backdrop of widespread student poverty, accommodation shortages, food insecurity, and rising student debt. In this context, the redistribution of these funds is not only welcome but long overdue and urgent.
However, SAFTU is deeply concerned that institutions and administrative systems allowed such a significant amount of money to sit idle while students were denied critical support. The fact that R1.7 billion could remain unaccounted for over several years points to serious weaknesses in financial management, accountability, and
oversight within the NSFAS system and associated institutions. Students were excluded, protests erupted on campuses, and academic progress was disrupted, while funds meant to alleviate these very conditions were effectively locked away.
The recovery of these funds must therefore be accompanied by decisive action to strengthen financial controls, improve coordination between NSFAS and institutions, and ensure that all unspent funds are promptly returned to the national funding pool.
As the 2026 academic year begins, the scale of the funding crisis in higher education remains stark. Demand for NSFAS support continues to grow year after year. For the upcoming academic cycle, nearly 900,000 applications were received from new tertiary students. More than one million students are expected to receive NSFAS funding in 2026, including over 600,000 first-time entrants into higher education. At the same time, thousands of students are still awaiting application outcomes or are stuck with incomplete applications, leaving many in a state of prolonged financial insecurity while attempting to pursue their studies.
These realities underscore the importance of ensuring that every available rand is used efficiently, transparently, and in the interests of students.
In a society characterised by deep economic inequality, mass youth unemployment, and rising barriers to education, NSFAS is not a discretionary programme but a critical social investment. Education is a constitutional right, and public funding for students is an essential instrument for realising that right in practice. Every rand lost through corruption, maladministration, inefficiency, or weak oversight directly undermines access to education and entrenches inequality across generations.
In this regard, SAFTU demands that NSFAS ensure the recovered R1.7 billion is utilised rapidly, transparently, and in a manner that directly addresses students’ material needs. These include tuition fees, accommodation, living allowances, food support, study materials, and other essential costs required for academic success.
Government and NSFAS must also urgently address persistent backlogs and administrative failures in application processing so that no eligible student is denied access to education due to bureaucratic delays or system inefficiencies.
Furthermore, there must be clear accountability and systemic reform to prevent unallocated funds from languishing again, including regular public reporting on how these recovered resources are being deployed in 2026 and beyond.
SAFTU reiterates that NSFAS is not a luxury or a favour to students; it is a cornerstone
of South Africa’s social and economic development. Properly funded and well-administered student financial aid is essential to building a skilled, educated workforce and breaking cycles of poverty and exclusion. The recovery of these funds must therefore mark not only a corrective intervention, but the beginning of a more transparent, accountable, and student-centred NSFAS system that genuinely serves the interests of the working class and the poor.
Issued on behalf of the SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at:
Newton Masuku
newtonm@saftu.org.za
0661682157
Media Officer
Asive Dyani
0719019564
