Question NW1373 to the Minister of Higher Education and Training

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31 May 2016 - NW1373

Profile picture: Bozzoli, Prof B

Bozzoli, Prof B to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training

(1)How many (a) student loans, (b) bursaries and (c) scholarships did the National Student Financial Aid Scheme allocate in each financial year since its inception in 2000; (2) (a) how many of the specified student loans were converted into bursaries in each of the specified financial years, (b) what is the value of the loans that were converted and (c) why were the specified loans converted to bursaries; (3) (a) how many of the specified student loans were written off in each of the specified financial years, (b) what is the value of the loans that were written off and (c) why were the specified loans written off?

Reply:

1. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) awards loans and bursaries.

1 (a) The table below contains the number and value of NSFAS loans awarded in each year.

Year

Loan Count

Loan Amount

2000

83 251

R 510 829 288.31

2001

93 532

R 635 091 084.88

2002

99 873

R 733 474 559.16

2003

112 264

R 893 672 471.50

2004

113 615

R 984 527 910.26

2005

122 617

R 1 214 620 227.23

2006

124 593

R 1 379 965 435.06

2007

140 147

R 1 682 353 956.38

2008

143 952

R 2 117 714 766.07

2009

162 503

R 2 818 220 031.70

2010

180 894

R 3 343 869 489.05

2011

212 133

R 4 561 359 562.01

2012

232 178

R 5 871 489 880.57

2013

195 665

R 4 774 601 486.18

2014

183 031

R 4 728 234 783.76

2015

205 420

R 4 850 127 272.07

Total

2 405 668

R 41 100 152 204.19

1 (b) The table below contains the total number and value of bursaries awarded each year.

Bursaries are made up of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college bursaries and university bursaries.

Year

Number

Bursary Amount

2000

72 037

R 149 943 786.82

2001

80 512

R 183 680 420.53

2002

86 146

R 213 087 777.41

2003

96 552

R 254 137 455.18

2004

98 732

R 302 106 088.28

2005

106 772

R 371 955 209.82

2006

108 294

R 411 287 523.42

2007

125 436

R 600 662 493.20

2008

155 376

R 852 722 463.49

2009

193 394

R 1 244 985 229.22

2010

212 709

R 1 500 872 028.17

2011

291 613

R 1 958 764 735.02

2012

298 149

R 2 722 954 813.27

2013

153 561

R 1 167 494 176.01

2014

333 675

R 4 118 642 032.98

2015

311 811

R 4 359 490 749.00

Total

2 724 769

R 20 412 786 981.82

2 (a) and (b) The table below shows the number and value of loans that were converted to bursaries in each year.

Year

  1. Number
  1. Amount

2000

68 458

R 149 288 662.92

2001

76 380

R 186 408 596.40

2002

81 891

R 215 272 969.58

2003

92 040

R 258 980 651.84

2004

93 630

R 310 057 061.77

2005

100 697

R 355 264 477.79

2006

98 836

R 374 521 400.27

2007

100 445

R 422 391 156.18

2008

102 188

R 522 126 444.81

2009

113 037

R 604 648 198.34

2010

122 474

R 725 761 024.53

2011

144 582

R 1 093 215 271.78

2012

146 249

R 1 275 849 187.29

2013

177 430

R 1 800 387 465.35

2014

169 722

R 1 815 074 609.61

2015

141 972

R 1 963 029 274.43

Total

1 830 031

R 12 072 276 452.89

(c) Loans are converted based on the rules of the funder. The rules stipulate that if a student has passed a certain percentage of their registered subjects then a percentage will be converted into a bursary. The normal conversion allows for up to 40% of the loan amount to be converted into a bursary based on the percentage of subjects passed, pro-rated if a lesser number of subjects are passed. For the Department of Higher Education and Training Final Year fund, if all subjects are passed, 100% of the final year loan is converted into a bursary, otherwise the 60:40 ratio is applied.

(3) (a) (b) and (c)

The loan debt amount written off is set out in the table below and are predominantly for deceased debtors and non-paying loans with a balance of R50.00 or less. In prior years, loans for deceased debtors were only written off when NSFAS was notified by their next of kin. Since 2015, NSFAS only writes off loans for deceased debtors based on information received from the Department of Home Affairs.

Year

  1. Number
  1. Amount

2000

266

R 1 575 172.13

2001

302

R 1 992 523.09

2002

214

R 1 618 224.47

2003

667

R 5 304 588.99

2004

451

R 4 108 980.18

2005

581

R 5 378 213.24

2006

400

R 4 347 938.06

2007

4 598

R 37 355 518.26

2008

358

R 4 379 246.49

2009

396

R 5 168 735.02

2010

276

R 4 078 341.64

2011

230

R 3 688 087.89

2012

130

R 2 714 623.67

2013

944

R 9 040 112.78

2014

9 613

R 807 969.46

2015

63 327

R 340 479 537.95

Total

82 753

R 432 037 813.32

COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:

EXT:

DIRECTOR – GENERAL

STATUS:

DATE:

QUESTION 1373 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED

Dr BE NZIMANDE, MP

MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

STATUS:

DATE:

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