NUPSAW rejects the decision by Minister Manamela to put NSFAS under administration
The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW), a recognised trade union at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the legitimate voice of workers within the entity, expresses its profound shock, disappointment, and unequivocal rejection of the decision by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, to place NSFAS under administration. The decision by the Minister was reckless, unjustified, political, disregarded due processes and undermined the measurable progress achieved under the current executive and Board
As NUPSAW we are of the view that administration is not a governance tool but an admission of oversight failure. While the Minister relies on Section 17A of the NSFAS Act, he has not demonstrated that less invasive and lawful remedies were exhausted before resorting to such an extreme measure. The Minister failed to fill vacant Board positions through established statutory processes, did not appoint an interim chairperson from among existing qualified members, and neglected to issue directives allowing the Board to continue functioning. Instead, he imposed administration prematurely, an action that introduces instability, uncertainty, and operational paralysis rather than restoring confidence in the institution.
NUPSAW further warns that disruption to students is both inevitable and unacceptable. Assurances that funding processes will continue seamlessly are unrealistic. Administrative restructuring will likely lead to growing backlogs in student appeals, delays in allowance disbursements as systems are revalidated, stalled accommodation approvals, and destabilisation of ICT and support services due to leadership uncertainty. Each day under administration will negatively affect poor and working-class students who depend on NSFAS for access to education.
The Minister’s legal and logical justification for this decision is fundamentally flawed, the timelines he presented shows no evidence of institutional collapse or crisis warranting administration. A directive was issued in March 2026 and was being implemented, followed by the resignation of two Board Members in April 2026, an occurrence that does not constitute governance failure.
Furthermore, the Minister’s reliance on the 2024/25 disclaimer audit outcome is equally misleading. The audit findings relate to prior financial periods and not solely to the tenure of the current leadership. Under Acting CEO Waseem Carrim and the current Board, corrective action plans were already in place and progress had been acknowledged by the Minister himself as recently as March 2026. A disclaimer audit outcome warrants strengthened oversight and consequence management, not a wholesale administrative takeover that disrupts institutional recovery.
Importantly, NUPSAW places on record the significant progress made under the current leadership. Governance systems have been strengthened, operational stability has improved, and service delivery to students has shown measurable gains, including faster resolution of payment issues and improvements in the direct payment system. These achievements, observed daily by workers, are now at risk of being reversed by the imposition of administration, which threatens to demoralize staff and undo years of institutional rebuilding following previous periods of instability.
We also caution against repeating the failures of past administrations, which resulted in increased maladministration, weakened systems, and a culture of fear and exclusion among staff. Previous administrators often ignored workers’ input, imposed unilateral decisions, and left behind a legacy of dysfunction that the current leadership has worked diligently to correct. Reintroducing this model risks plunging NSFAS back into the very crisis it has been striving to overcome.
NUPSAW further contends that the decision reflects a political maneuver rather than a governance necessity. By bypassing established structures and concentrating authority in an appointed administrator, the Minister risks prioritizing political optics over institutional stability. The consequences will be borne by workers, who face uncertainty and possible marginalization, and by students, who will experience disruptions in funding and services.
The union maintains that a responsible approach would have involved filling Board vacancies within the legally prescribed timeframe, maintaining the functionality of the Board through interim leadership arrangements, deploying independent governance support where necessary, and engaging key stakeholders, including organized labor and student formations. The failure to pursue these reasonable interventions underscores the flawed nature of the decision.
In light of these concerns, NUPSAW calls on Minister Buti Manamela to immediately review and withdraw the decision to place NSFAS under administration, reconvene the Board and facilitate the lawful filling of vacancies within 14 days, engage directly with recognized union leadership, and provide full transparency regarding the rationale and legal basis for bypassing due process. The union reaffirms its full support for the current Board and executive leadership and warns that any attempt to sideline them will be met with firm and organized resistance. NSFAS is not a platform for political experimentation but a critical lifeline for South African students. NUPSAW will not stand idle while that lifeline is placed at risk through what it views as unjustified administrative intervention.
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