Wits and UFS repay over R800m in unallocated Nsfas funds to SIU

The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of Free State (UFS) have paid the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) more than R800 million in unallocated National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) funds.

Wits and UFS paid R450 million and R438 million respectively to the SIU emanating from their Nsfas investigation.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said on Friday afternoon that the funds were unallocated amounts from the years 2016 to 2021.

Unallocated Nsfas funds

Kganyago said: “Various events, such as students receiving multiple sources of funding and changes in the total cost of study for an academic year, generated these funds.”

The payments by Wits and UFS have brought the total amount the SIU received from higher education institutions to approximately R1.7 billion since the beginning of the Nsfas investigation in September 2022.

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Annual reconciliations neglected

Nsfas was required to collect unallocated funds from higher learning institutions at the end of each academic year through reconciliation.

However, the SIU’s investigation found that Nsfas failed to design and implement effective controls, neglecting to conduct yearly reconciliations between disbursed funds and the funded list of registered students.

‘Close-out reporting’

To address this issue, Nsfas has hired a service provider to assist with the reconciliation process, referred to as “close-out reporting”.

Kganyago added that the SIU assisted Boland TVET College in the refund of R8 953 949.

The money represents the underpayments that Nsfas made to the college from the 2017 to 2022 academic years.

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“With the intervention of the SIU, the amount owed by Nsfas to the institution was quantified and paid, ensuring that the institution receives what is due to them,” Kganyago said.

The SIU expressed its gratitude to the institutions and the schemes for their cooperation in the investigation.

“The SIU is committed to ensuring that all parties receive what is owed to them so that student accounts can accurately reflect the correct balances.”