Question NW2583 to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation
02 October 2023 - NW2583
Letsie, Mr WT to ask the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation
In light of the fact that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme has been on the news recently for a number of reasons, one of them being the inability of the recently appointed Fintech companies to distribute allowances to students and allegations of some of them having not met the minimum requirements to be appointed, what has he and his department done to (a) get to the bottom of the allegations and (b) ensure students are not affected negatively from now onwards?
Reply:
a) The Department has studied the allegations against Fintech companies and regards them as very serious. The Department has engaged the NSFAS board on several occasions and is awaiting Werksmans Attorneys’ findings so that any decision taken is guided by verifiable facts and evidence, is lawful, reasonable, and procedurally fair as per legal prescripts derived from our constitution, and related legislation, including the Public Administrative Justice Act of 2000. In addition, the Department has despatched a senior official to be incorporated into the Appeals Committee to assist with tracking progress and developing solutions to arising problems.
b) The Department regrets that some students have been affected by the systems introduced by the Fintech companies. The Department has been advised that NSFAS has sent a team of senior officials to ten of the most affected institutions to engage the students and understand the challenges they are experiencing with the Fintech companies. The team will be concluding their report on 22 September 2023. It is expected that they will numerate all issues, and resolve them with necessary alacrity, including finalising a Change Management Strategy.