Student aid scheme to get administrator amid funding delays and IT flaws
Student organisations warn of more national protests across higher education institutions
The board and executives of the troubled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) have backed the imminent appointment of an administrator to oversee the work of the scheme as pressure mounts on CEO Steven Zwane to step down. The multibillion-rand scheme, on the brink of collapse, has been struggling to ensure the smooth roll-out of free higher education due to system and management failures. Many students have complained about delayed payments, which sparked protests at various tertiary institutions earlier in 2018. About 75,000 students who have been granted funding for 2018 are still waiting to be allocated their funds more than halfway through the academic year. On Thursday, student organisations unhappy about the delay in the payment of allowances, warned of more national protests across higher education institutions, which will disrupt the academic programme. The crisis is said to have prompted the resignation last week of board chair Sizwe Nxasana, and another board memb...
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