sizwe nxasana

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 20: Sizwe Nxasana, Chairman of NSFAS speaks during a meeting with the Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande and university vice-chancellors on January 20, 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nzimande met with the university leaders to map a way forward for the 2016 academic year and to discuss student funding. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Vathiswa Ruselo)

NSFAS chairperson Sizwe Nxasana resigns amid payment crisis

Sizwe Nxasana noted that the NSFAS payment system has endured extreme strain after Zuma’s announcement of free education.

sizwe nxasana

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 20: Sizwe Nxasana, Chairman of NSFAS speaks during a meeting with the Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande and university vice-chancellors on January 20, 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nzimande met with the university leaders to map a way forward for the 2016 academic year and to discuss student funding. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Vathiswa Ruselo)

Sizwe Nxasana, the now-former chairperson of the National Students’ Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), has officially resigned from his position.

What do we know about Sizwe Nxasana?

Nxasana is a chartered accountant by virtue of his education background. He was the CEO of FirstRand, the banking holding company between 2006 and 2015.

Blade Nzimande, the former Minister of Higher Education, called upon his expertise to put NSFAS back on track in 2015, where he has served until now.

Nxasana’s motivation to vacate his post is due to the extreme strain, as he labelled it in his statement, the NSFAS payment system took after former president Jacob Zuma announced the extension of free education in December 2017.

Zuma’s announcement of free education strained the system

He based this as the reason for NSFAS’ recent struggles. However, a few months ago, Minister of Higher Education, Naledi Pandor, came down hard on the struggling institution, ordering its seniors to find answers to why students who’ve already graduated were still receiving financial aid.

Furthermore, Pandor ordered a halt on accepting any financial assistance applications for now, until the backlog of payments from 2017 and 2018 was cleared.

The NSFAS budget is R30bn for this year, and those students who have already been accepted have been urged to submit their signed agreements in the said time.

Nxasana, answering questions on why he has decided to vacate his position, stated that

“It is time to move on and make way for new leadership and to see how government will take this forward.”

It has only been revealed now that Zuma announced the extension of free education without consulting the top brass of the institution.

Nxasana believes that this is the fundamental reason why NSFAS’ payment system has been strained. He added that

“There has been an increase in students requiring financial assistance since the announcement (by Zuma) and we had to adapt. This we had to do whilst still dealing with legacy issues as the institution. We are now faced with a challenging new environment. A lot more students apply than there are available places at universities and other tertiary institutions. The capacity is not enough.”

He has vowed to stay involved in helping where he can and supporting education initiatives through the Sifiso Learning Group and Future Nation Schools.