In her maiden budget speech in Parliament, Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane said expanding access to higher education and training opportunities remained the goal, and that she had a 'moral responsibility' to tackle the challenges within NSFAS.

Dr Nobuhle Nkabane tabled her priorities as the minister of higher education and training during her budget vote speech at Parliament on Tuesday, saying: "It remains our goal to expand access to higher education and training opportunities and improve the quality of provisioning responsiveness and efficiency of the post-school education and training system."

The Department of Higher Education and Training tabled a budget of R137, 5-billion for the 2024/25 financial year, a 4.8% increase from the R130, 5-billion in 2023/24 financial year, and plans a R250,2-billion budget for the 2026/27 financial year.

NSFAS

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was an ongoing talking point during the debate. MPs spoke extensively about the scheme - how it has been run and its failure to produce a financial report for two consecutive years.

The department has allocated more than R46-billion to NSFAS as part of the budget to ensure that it is capable of conducting its duties to fund students. Nkabane said there had been many calls to transform NSFAS, and the department was committed to listening to the prayers of parents and students to resolve the issues of funding and payment challenges.

"We are taking proactive steps to alleviate these...