Despite its challenges, Nsfas is one of the ANC's greatest successes

A lot has been written about the challenges facing the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas).

While some of it arises out of genuine concern for the plight of poor and working-class students, who have been affected by systemic and other failures in recent times, most of the noise comes from enemies of the ANC-led government.

They want to obliterate any acknowledgment of this government's successes as they seek to position themselves for next year’s elections.

In light of this, those deployed by the ANC in higher education, while always being candid about challenges Nsfas faces, must not allow the role the scheme plays in transforming the lives of the poor to be distorted. As Amilcar Cabral said: “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories.”

Started as the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa in 1993 after an intervention by President Nelson Mandela, and later relaunched as Nsfas through an act of parliament in 1999, the scheme's aim is to “provide financial aid to eligible students who meet the criteria for admission to a higher education programme”. The scheme has gone from disbursing R21.4m when it started to almost R50bn in the current financial year. It has grown from supporting 7,000 students when it started to over 1-million this year, in both TVET colleges and universities.

This is a massive achievement that clearly demonstrates the government's commitment to providing deserving students with access to higher education, regardless of their backgrounds. There is no better way to transform people's lives than through education, and higher education in particular. What often gets missed is that behind the numbers are actual human beings who would never have seen the inside of an institution of higher learning had it not been for the scheme.

Many of these come from the most economically deprived areas of our country. Thanks to Nsfas support, they go on to be economically active citizens who not only support and improve the living standards of their families, but plough back and bring development to the areas they come from.   

It was pleasing, at a celebration of the scheme's 30th anniversary, to hear many Nsfas beneficiaries proudly telling their stories and expressing gratitude about what they had achieved thanks largely to their Nsfas-funded post-school qualifications.

Many past recipients of Nsfas funding are now leaders in industry, academia and the public sector. Despite the current challenges facing the scheme, and however much the ANC's opponents lament its shortcomings, no amount of propaganda can change this transformative reality.

The role Nsfas has played and continues to play in fuelling our economy, through supporting the production of highly skilled graduates, is yet to be properly quantified. However, there can be no gainsaying that Nsfas is one of the government's greatest achievements. Tell no lies, claim no easy victories.     

With so many competing demands, we need to have an honest conversation — first as a movement and then as a country — about how we should allocate the limited resources we have at our disposal.

What, then, has led to the challenges the scheme now faces? First, in 2010, under higher education & training minister Blade Nzimande, Nsfas was introduced in TVET colleges as part of the plan to reposition them as higher education institutions of choice. This was a milestone in itself.

A second significant change in policy occurred in 2018, when the threshold for eligibility was increased from the an annual family income of R122,000 to R350,000. This meant that significantly more students qualified. In addition, the loan component of the scheme was done away with, leaving only the grant portion.

This meant that all eligible students had their higher education paid for in full by the state. This included tuition fees, accommodation, meals, study materials, living allowances and in some instances transport allowances.

While some would have us believe otherwise, no other country provides the kind of support Nsfas does. This is in line with the Freedom Charter's injunction that "the doors of learning and culture shall be opened”, and that “higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit”.

This provision has led to recent resolutions calling for the state to provide free education for the poor. Of course, many more families than those who meet the current threshold also need financial support when putting their children through tertiary education (the “missing middle”). This is a matter the ruling party and the government are looking into, and policy announcements will be made soon.   

With a now vastly increased demand for its services, Nsfas has spent the past few years improving its systems and processes. This has proven a bigger challenge than anticipated, given that in terms of its mandate Nsfas is bigger than most financial institutions but operates on a much smaller budget. However, great strides have been made.

To eliminate corruption, which had been rife in the system, Nsfas has adopted a student-centred model. This means the scheme deals directly with students and those who provide services such as accommodation, thereby eliminating the need for middlemen. Among other changes, Nsfas now pays allowances directly to students. It was while implementing this that challenges arose.

During a media conference held this week, the minister was clear about the directives he has given to the Nsfas board to address systemic issues urgently and report back to him.

During the reform process it was found that many ineligible students had been funded, and this had to be corrected.

While we are sympathetic to the fact that many more families than those who meet the eligibility criteria need financial assistance, it is indefensible to use unethical means to secure state funding. Given the country's rampant crime and corruption, we have a revolutionary and a moral duty to confront such unscrupulous conduct.

With so many competing demands, we need to have an honest conversation — first as a movement and then as a country — about how we should allocate the limited resources we have at our disposal.

The soon to be concluded model for sustainable student funding starts from that premise and will provide a solution for the “missing middle” families. Notwithstanding the current challenges, which we shall overcome, Nsfas remains one of the greatest achievements of the democratic government and will continue to play a crucial role in the life of our nation.

• Nqandela is a special adviser to the minister of higher education, science & innovation