The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has commended the proposed plans by Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, to terminate the rental agreement of the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) headquarters in Cape Town.

Committee Chairperson, Tebogo Letsie, said the NSFAS headquarters in Cape Town had always been a sore point for the committee since moving from its previous leased building in Wynberg to the Cape Town city centre.

‘While many students suffered in terms of funding, getting their allowances on time and accommodation challenges, the entity enjoyed a building with scenic views,” said Letsie.

This comes as it has been reported that there are plans to end the lease of the Cape Town office to reduce costs, among other things.

Letsie said the committee had criticised the decision by NSFAS to move its headquarters to a place where most of its clients do not have access to their services.

He said the planned termination was long overdue and was a positive ste
p towards addressing decades of mismanagement of student affairs by NSFAS.

‘[The] NSFAS budget is bigger than many national departments and we have always maintained that the offices of NSFAS must be in Gauteng where we have the highest concentration of the student population.

‘Ultimately, the committee would like to see the decentralisation of NSFAS to all regions which will ensure accessibility to students across the country added,’ the chairperson said.

The committee welcomed the new NSFAS 2025 online applications intake opening on Friday, 20 September 2024, to allow for extensive consultations with institutions, stakeholders, and student formations.

Source: South African Government News Agency