Higher Education minister Blade Nzimande has dissolved the board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) with immediate effect.
He also on Friday placed the scheme under administration.
This comes after the resignation of NSFAS board chairperson Ernest Khosa on Thursday.
In a statement, Nzimande said he was aware of, and deeply disturbed, by the recurring problem of non-payment of student allowances by the NSFAS.
“Given the magnitude of this problem and its negative impact on the well-being of students and the continued functioning of our post school education and training system, in the next few days, the minister will be taking a series of additional and decisive steps, all of which are intended to have the problem of non-payment of allowances resolved as a matter of priority,” he said.
As part of this "series of decisive steps", Nzimande said he had instructed NSFAS, supported by the department, to immediately establish a dedicated task team that will visit all the TVET Colleges and Universities, where students are experiencing serious NSFAS related problems.
He said the task team had already started working.
“The minister also wishes to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to all affected students for the inconvenience that they have been experiencing, as a result of the non-payment of allowances,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the South African Union of Students has welcomed the move, saying the dissolution of the NSFAS board was long overdue.
SAUS Spokesperson Asive Dlanjwa also called for “the complete overhaul of the NSFAS management”.
