NSFAS reveals shocking R45bn student debt

WHILE thousands of students still struggle to secure funding, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) says billions of rand remain unpaid by former beneficiaries — and it's now demanding graduates start repaying their loans.

- SIMON MAJADIBODU

NSFAS CEO Waseem Carrim has revealed that the scheme is owed R45 billion in outstanding student loans.

Carrim said the loans date back to 2018 and earlier and were granted by NSFAS and its predecessor, the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa (TEFSA). NSFAS was established in 1996 to provide financial assistance to students. Initially, it was ran by TEFSA, a nonprofit organisation set up in 1991.

TEFSA administered the fund until 2000 and was officially converted into a statutory body in 1999, becoming NSFAS. Carrim admitted that NSFAS has struggled with recovering debt over the years.

“It has not had the best debt management strategy. But we cannot, as a board and management, continue to sit on that substantial amount of debt and not collect it” he said.