'It is better that we decentralise NSFAS and take it down to provinces, so that each and every province is able to deal and resolve its own issues especially around the appeals,' says Parliament's higher education portfolio committee member Gaolatlhe Kgabo.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is battling to ease the backlog of student queries and appeals with a designated staff of between 80 and 86.

Members of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Higher Education have expressed shock at what they described as a small number of staff who have received more than 90,000 appeals since April 2024, with each employee only able to respond to 100 per day.

University and TVET students send appeals to NSFAS if their funding has been cut off due lack of documentation such as parents' IDs, South African Social Security Agency consent forms and South African Revenue Service showing the income of parents or guardians.

A total of 35,226 appeals remain unresolved, but NSFAS anticipates finalising them in the first week of September 2024.

On Wednesday (21 August) the committee received the first quarterly report from NSFAS administrator Freeman Nomvalo, which covers updates on handling student appeals, processing accommodation payments and preparing for the 2025 application cycle.

Still under administration, NSFAS presented the report during a tour of its offices in Cape Town where the committee learnt that the scheme has between 80 and 86 staff who deal with student queries and appeals.

NSFAS...