SIU recovers almost R1bn in Nsfas funds from higher learning institutions

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has now recovered almost R1 billion from institutions of higher learning, as part of its ongoing investigations into the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas).

President Cyril Ramaphosa in August last year authorised the unit to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration at the scheme.

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After investigations, the SIU revealed there was R400 million that still needed to be recovered from the University of Pretoria (UP) and just above R311 million from the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

According to the SIU, UP paid the money into the unit’s Trust account in four instalments of R100 million. The funds paid by UP are unallocated funds from 2016 to 2021.

These are funds for students who qualified for funding, but either changed institutions or deregistered. While the funds should stay in the possession of the institution for just a year, UP had been sitting with the funds for years due to Nsfas‘ poor control systems and a lack of reconciliation processes.

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“These control weaknesses have led to overpayments and underpayments of funds to the different institutions over the period 2017 to date,” said the SIU.

When approached by the SIU, the institutions cooperated, it said.

Other institutions with Nsfas funds

West Coast College – R5 million
NorthLink College – R33 million
Walter Sisulu – R19 million
Nkangala TVET – R342,672
University of Johannesburg – R311 million
University of Zululand – R58 million
University of Pretoria – R400 million
Majuba TVET College – R25 million
University of Mpumalanga – R33 million

The SIU has also signed an acknowledgement of the debt agreement of R38.7 million with Motheo Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in the Free State.

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It also signed agreements worth R10.9 million with parents and students who did not meet the Nsfas funding criteria.

The SIU investigation further uncovered that Celbux, the e-wallet/voucher payment system, had many dormant accounts on system dating back to 2018 amounting to an estimated value of R320 million.

In responses to the weaknesses in recovering unallocated funds, Nsfas has since appointed a service provider to assist them.

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