Governance crises, NSFAS instability top Buti Manamela’s first-year challenges

Governance failures, instability at theNational Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), and the need to better prepare graduates for employment were the biggest hurdles facing higher education and training ministerButi Manameladuring his first year in office. Reflecting on the period, Manamela said his department had spent much of the past 12 months responding to governance crises across institutions. “Two months into office, the NSFAS board chairperson resigned, followed by three other board members.

That, in itself, created a governance challenge. At the time, the acting leadership committed to stabilising NSFAS within 60 days. We agreed on a more realistic target of 90 days, but it demonstrated the scale of the governance issues we inherited,” Manamela said.

He said governance failures often dominate public discourse despite most institutions functioning effectively. “We have 26 universities, 21 CETAs, 50 TVET colleges, quality councils and many other institutions, each with its own council or board. A stable Wits, a stable UJ or a stableNSFASdoesn’t make the news.

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One incident at one university or college ends up defining the entire sector,” he said. “That doesn’t mean those governance issues shouldn’t be addressed, but it is important to recognise that they do not represent every institution.” He said many governance disputes stemmed from deteriorating relationships between governing boards and executive management. “Where the law allows and where there is sufficient evidence, we have not hesitated to intervene.

We have followed the law in every instance, even though many of those interventions have been challenged in court,” he said. He revealed that the department had to source an additional R13.5bn last year to sustain NSFAS despite the funding not being built into the department’s baseline budget. “Since the introduction of fee-free higher education in 2018, we have not fundamentally changed the structure of NSFAS or the legislation governing it. Every year, demand for funding increases because deserving students continue to qualify, but the budget has not kept pace with the policy.

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