LISTEN: New NSFAS board chairperson appointed
The deputy vice-chancellor of the Central University of Technology (CUT) Neil Garrod has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board.
The appointment comes after the resignation for Sizwe Nxasana on Thursday, who occupied the position for three years.
The leadership changes comes amid challenges at the financial aid scheme, with many students across the country who have not received their allowances nearly eight months into the academic year.
The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Naledi Pandor, held an urgent meeting with the board on Friday.
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The department’s spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele says a process to place NSFAS under administration is underway.
“He has been appointed until a point when the minister has appointed the administrator and the board will cease to exist.”
In July, Pandor instructed the board to halt processing applications for 2019, to address the allowance backlog.
“The response the minister got from the board indicated that to be successful in doing this we would need to bring an administrator who would bring in IT expertise as we found that that part of the problem with the delays in payment are related to the systems NSFAS is using,” says Ngqengelele.