Higher education & training minister Buti Manamela has dissolved the board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and placed it under administration, he announced on Monday.
This marks the third time since 2018 that NSFAS, which provides financial support to more than 1.2-million students, has been placed under administration. Freeman Nomvalo was administrator between April 2024 and February 2025, while Randall Carolissen held the post between August 2018 and December 2021.
Hlengani Mathebula has been appointed administrator for 24 months or until a new board has been appointed, according to a notice published in the Government Gazette.
Manamela’s move follows his announcement last week that he was assessing the board’s capacity to discharge its duties effectively after a wave of resignations. The board was appointed in February 2025 by Manamela’s predecessor, Nobuhle Nkabane.
Manamela said he is concerned about the governance of NSFAS and its capacity to fulfil its mandate. NSFAS received a disclaimer from the auditor-general for its 2024/25 annual report, failed to modernise its ICT systems, and continues to grapple with many unresolved student appeals and ongoing problems with student accommodation, he said.
Government cannot knowingly ignore potential legal irregularities in the constitution of a statutory body entrusted with billions of rand in public funds and the futures of millions of students.
— Higher education & training minister Buti Manamela
A disclaimer is the worst possible audit opinion, indicating that financial records are so poor the auditor cannot vouch for them.
Placing NSFAS under administration is a “temporary but necessary intervention to restore institutional credibility, operational effectiveness and public confidence” in the scheme, Manamela said. “Government cannot knowingly ignore potential legal irregularities in the constitution of a statutory body entrusted with billions of rand in public funds and the futures of millions of students.”
Mathabula has extensive experience in governance and financial management, as well as regulatory and institutional leadership experience accumulated over more than three decades across the public and private sectors, said Manamela.
Mathabula’s current board memberships include chair of the Media Development and Diversity Agency and nonexecutive director of retail giant Shoprite, according to a profile provided by the department of higher education & training. He has also served as an adviser to the governor of the South African Reserve Bank.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said Manamela had little choice but to act, given the exodus of board members. The NSFAS Act says there should be 18 board members, but only 11 were appointed by Nkabane, and by last week only seven remained.
Late last year, Manamela instituted a high court review of the NSFAS board appointed by Nkabane, saying at the time that it was intended to regularise procedural shortcomings. That process has yet to conclude.
Outa senior project manager Rudie Heyneke said it is disappointing that Manamela did not act sooner to place NSFAS under administration, given that several board members resigned last year. Besides its board troubles, NSFAS has also lacked stability at the executive level, with an acting CEO and acting CFO for more than a year, he said.
Business Day
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