More funds for NSFAS despite concerns
THE National Treasury has announced that the allocation for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)
– crucial in the government’s efforts for free education – will increase from R20.3 billion in 2018-19, to R37bn in 2021-22.
“This increase is due to an additional allocation of R43.4bn in the 2018 Budget for the phasing in of the departmental bursary scheme for students from poor and working class families.”
The increase comes despite the auditor-general, Kimi Makwetu, having found that NSFAS had not taken effective steps to prevent irregular expenditure as required by the Public Finance Management Act.
Makwetu had found that NSFAS made overpayments totalling R503.34 million to students above the amounts stipulated in the loan agreements, and NSFAS disclosing R303.547m in irregular expenditure in the 2017-18 financial year.
NSFAS is currently run by an administrator, after it experienced challenges in managing and disbursing bursaries to students last year.
Tabling his Budget speech in Parliament yesterday, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said fully subsidised education and training for the poor was the government’s flagship intervention.
“Over the medium term, government would spend R111.2bn to ensure that 2.8 million deserving students from poor and working class families obtain their qualifications at universities and TVET colleges,” he said.
According to the National Treasury, transfers to universities would increase at 7.1% annually from R38.7bn in 2018-19, to R47.5bn in 2021-22.
“These funds will support enrolments and ensure financial sustainability, an improved quality of higher education and affordable university fees.
“Included in these transfers to universities is an additional allocation of R120m in 2019-20 made through the facility for infrastructure for student housing infrastructure programme.”
The National Treasury also said R105m would be spent towards the construction of student residences.
Mboweni announced that more than R30bn would be allocated to build new schools and maintain schooling infrastructure.
“An additional R2.8bn is added to the school infrastructure backlogs grant to replace pit latrines at over 2 400 schools, but to make certain these schools are effective centres of learning will also require parents to be visible and constructive part in the governance of schools.”
R2.8 billion is added to the school infrastructure backlogs grant to replace pit latrines Tito Mboweni Finance Minister