The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says it has recovered more than R688 million from institutions of higher learning belonging to the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
At the same time, the Unit says it has acknowledgement of debt signed by students to the tune of R49 million, who benefitted fraudulently from NSFAS.
The Unit was briefing Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on its investigation into the Scheme’s maladministration.
Thousands of students from the country’s 76 institutions of higher learning were found to have benefited while not meeting the threshold of NSFAS.
The SIU says it’s on track to recoup that money. And it has already recouped millions of rands from institutions that were not used due to various issues.
“The actual amount that has been recovered, which is around R688 million and the acknowledgement of debt that were signed R49 million so if you add both we will ultimately have R787 million and thousands that are coming through,” says SIU Head Adv Andy Mothibi.
The SIU says it has visited 58 institutions, interviewing implicated students who were not eligible to benefit from the Scheme.
It says while it’s taking into consideration comments around criminalising students on this matter, it has a responsibility to investigate wrongdoing.
“On this criminality thing, I’m sort of conflicted because where do you begin to draw the line on corruption, it just hit me because we’ve got students who would literally falsify and students who are deserving are pushed down and put aside,” says SCOPA Chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
The Department of Higher Education also sought to clarify the funding of the missing middle.
“This missing middle scheme is about developing an endowment scheme that is a loan scheme that keeps replenishing itself as people pay back and I think it’s important that people recall that NSFAS is not knew to deal with the loan system. In fact, the experience of the expertise at NSFAS is about disbursing a loan system and not a grant,” says Higher Education Director General Dr Nkosinathi Sishi.
It says the majority of protests at tertiary institutions are around the funding of the missing middle.
Video: Higher education – SCOPA unveils NSFAS audits
