Wits, UFS repay over R800m unallocated NSFAS funds
The University of Witwatersrand and the University of the Free State repaid the amounts as part of an SIU investigation into the students' funding scheme.
Wits University and UFS repaid more than R800 million in unallocated national student financial aid funds to the special investigating unit.
Wits paid R450 million, while UFS paid R438 million following a probe by the Special Investigating Unit into National Students’ Financial Aid Scheme.
The SIU’s investigation revealed that NSFAS failed to design and implement controls that would ensure an annual reconciliation between the funds disbursed to the institutions and the funded list of registered students.
SIU welcomes payment of over R800 million by WITS and UFS
— Special Investigating Unit (SIU) (@RSASIU) December 6, 2024
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) welcomes the payment of R450 million and R438 million made by the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of the Free State (UFS) respectively to the SIU emanating from… pic.twitter.com/DzC6sukXOB
“The funds paid by Wits and UFS are unallocated amounts from the years 2016 to 2021. These funds were generated by various events, such as students receiving multiple sources of funding and changes in the total cost of study for an academic year.
“The payment made by Wits and UFS brings the total amount received from institutions of higher learning to approximately R1.7 Billion since the inception of the NSFAS investigation in September 2022,” said SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
The payment made by Wits and UFS brings the total amount received from institutions of higher learning to approximately R1.7 Billion since the inception of the NSFAS investigation in September 2022.
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