Acting National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) CEO Waseem Carrim has confirmed that the scheme has sufficient funds to make upfront payments to institutions, ensuring students can start their studies.
On Tuesday, Carrim and acting Nsfas chairperson Dr Mugwena Maluleke updated the country on the progress the scheme has made regarding funding applications for this year.
Last year, the scheme was in the headlines for the wrong reasons, with students sleeping on the streets due to accommodation issues and failing to make timely payments for some students, risking their registrations.
However, Carrim assured South Africans that Nsfas had systems in place to prevent last year’s issues.
“I’d like to say, though, that Nsfas does have sufficient funding to make the upfront payments to institutions for February and March for what is the remaining of this financial year. But basically, the start of the 2026 academic year,” said Carrim.
“As it relates to the budget for 2026, we are still engaged in the budget process with National Treasury. Of course, the budget is published, I think, in the third week of February after the State of the Nation Address. And we’ll be able to give a sense of what our final budget numbers are for the 2026 academic year.”
Nsfas in numbers
Just over 49 000 students will not be receiving funding from the Nsfas to pursue their higher education in the 2026 academic year.
Mugwena said the scheme had received 893 847 applications for this year. Of these, 593 981 applications were submitted by women and 299 866 by men.
To date, 609 653 applications have been approved, with 218 043 applications currently incomplete due to outstanding documents. About 16 862 applications were cancelled and 49 538 were rejected.
First-time entry students accounted for 766 232 applications, while 125 157 applications came from senior students.
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“The 49 000 would be solely rejected on the basis of the income exceeding R350 000. So those would have been first-time entering students who would have applied but did not meet the financial eligibility criteria,” explained Carrim.
“Of course, we’ve got two categories of students, first-time entering and continuing students. Continuing students who would not have met the academic progression criteria would have been the ones who would not continue to receive funding from Nsfas.”
To qualify for Nsfas, you must be a South African citizen/resident, have a household income under R350 000 a year (or R600 000 with a disability), and be studying at a public university/TVET college for an approved qualification.
Sassa recipients automatically qualify financially.
Nsfas challenges
Maluleke said the current board has developed and adopted policies to stabilise Nsfas “in a very short period of time”.
“For example, the Audit and Risk Committee has been established, and it’s functional, and it’s very efficient in order to ensure that it addresses things that have happened in the past, for example, called legacy issues that are now in the SIU being investigated, and work is being done around that area.
“And what I picked up is that you are working with men and women who are prepared to sacrifice and work for the people of our country. And that, to me, is very encouraging as an acting or interim chair of the board.
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“They are willing, and they are working. Some of them have not gone on holiday because they have a travel team that has to work on ensuring that by 15 December, the students are able to receive the outcome or statuses that are required. And I think that is one of the areas that I have been able to pick up very quickly, that there is willingness to work, and the board is willing to do the work that needs to be done.”
Instability
However, he acknowledged instability within the scheme.
“Of course, we’re still having instability in terms of acting positions and so forth. This is a result of a prolonged process of administration. Because where the board is absent, it’s not easy for one person to act as the board, act as the CEO and act as everything. We need to appreciate the fact that a number of things will not take place because of that,” he explained.
“So we are in the process of ensuring that positions are filled. The HR committee, on behalf of the board, as well as the management, is responsible for some of these particular things because we need to ensure that we do not blur the lines of governance and administration.
“The acting CEO is working very hard to ensure that those positions that have been vacant are filled. And we hope that we can be supported, that we can have the cooperation of our stakeholders in ensuring that the CEO is able to complete that particular process, while the board is also completing some of the processes that are there.”
End of troubles in sight?
Carrim hoped 2026 would be a more efficient year for Nsfas.
“I think we’ve made a very clear commitment that we want the mechanisms and the processes to function effectively this year. We are willing to be held accountable for that throughout the academic year. I would really like to get to the end of 2026 and not see unpaid accommodation providers, but also on a monthly basis, for the system to function.”
The scheme will release monthly statistics on Nsfas payments and disbursements.
“We will be embarking on a consultation process throughout 2026 on a revised funding and financing model for the higher education sector. And I think inputs and consultations on that become critically important as we look at the long-term sustainability for higher education.”
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