• NSFAS has been placed under administration, with Professor Hlengani Mathebula appointed to take full control following prolonged governance failures, board resignations, and financial irregularities.
• Manamela cited irregular expenditure, ICT system delays, unresolved student appeals, and serious data integrity concerns as key reasons for the intervention.
• Manamela stressed that student funding and allowances will continue uninterrupted, with the intervention aimed at stabilising the institution rather than disrupting its operations.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been placed under administration with immediate effect, Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela announced on Monday, citing deep governance, financial and operational failures within the embattled institution.

Manamela confirmed that Professor Hlengani Mathebula has been appointed as administrator to take over full control of NSFAS following what he described as a prolonged period of instability, board resignations and systemic breakdowns.

“NSFAS, therefore, has implications not only for universities, but for the democratic state,” Manamela said.

“It is for this reason government has a responsibility when the effective functioning of the institution is compromised.”

In his briefing, Manamela said NSFAS was not merely an administrative entity but a critical instrument in South Africa’s democratic project, ensuring access to higher education for poor and working-class students.

He said:

He said the decision followed “a long process of legal assessment and government intervention”, including court action initiated by the department over concerns about the legality of the board’s constitution.

Manamela explained that when he assumed office, governance concerns already existed around the NSFAS board, prompting self-review proceedings in court to assess the legality of its constitution.

He said the government could not ignore “potential legal irregularities” in an institution entrusted with billions of rands in public funds and the futures of millions of students.

The minister pointed to a series of governance and operational failures, including irregular expenditure in the 2024/25 financial year, ICT system delays, unresolved student appeals, accommodation failures affecting student dignity and safety, and “serious data integrity concerns”.

He added that the situation worsened following multiple resignations from the board, including the interim leadership, which left the government without a viable governance structure.

“At that stage, the governance situation deteriorated further,” Manamela said.

He confirmed that each remaining board member was given an opportunity to make representations on the governance situation and possible alternatives before the decision was finalised.

READ | NSFAS board reduced to 7 members after spate of resignations

The department also considered alternatives to administration, including filling vacancies, appointing further interim leadership, increasing oversight, and allowing more time for governance processes to stabilise.

“Ultimately, however, I was not satisfied that the ordinary governance arrangements were capable of adequately stabilising the institution, nor that continued board-led governance would restore the level of assurance required to protect students and public resources,” Manamela said.

He stressed that the issue was no longer simply whether the board could technically function, but whether NSFAS as an institution was operating effectively and credibly in the interests of students.

According to Manamela, that assessment led to the conclusion that urgent intervention was necessary.

The minister said that Mathebula brings “extensive governance, financial management, regulatory and institutional leadership experience spanning more than three decades”.

Mathebula’s experience includes senior roles in the financial services sector, corporate banking, central banking, public governance, and higher education. He has served at institutions including the South African Reserve Bank, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and other major public and private entities.

Mathebula joined the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) as board chair in 2021.

He was precautionarily suspended and later left SARS in 2019 after being implicated by the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into SARS.

The inquiry was set up to probe tax administration and governance issues at the tax body.

SARS issued a joint statement with Mathebula at the time saying that “following interactions and information exchange” between it and Mathebula, it was concluded that the “the parties should, and have agreed to, end the employment relationship”.

Manamela said that Mathebula currently serves as director and head of the Tshwane School of Business and Society at the Tshwane University of Technology, and the government is “confident in his ability to stabilise the institution”.

The administrator’s mandate will focus on stabilisation, accountability and operational continuity, including strengthening governance systems, addressing audit and consequence management failures, accelerating ICT reforms, stabilising student funding, improving accommodation, and resolving appeals and service delivery backlogs.

Mathebula will also be empowered, subject to approvals, to recruit specialists in key areas, including audit, ICT, finance, governance, legal services and risk management, to support the recovery process.

Manamela emphasised that the intervention is temporary but necessary, and that it is not intended to disrupt NSFAS operations.

“Let me state this clearly – student funding will continue. Allowances will continue. Outstanding appeals will continue,” he said.

He added that universities and colleges would continue engaging NSFAS operationally, with the intervention aimed at protecting continuity while restoring confidence.

“This intervention is not about personality. It is not about factions. It is about protecting students, stabilising a critical public institution and ensuring NSFAS performs its mandate effectively and lawfully,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information.