Tebogo Letsie, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, says the rising student debt figures show that current interventions are not working as intended and warns that unresolved NSFAS-related challenges are worsening the crisis in the higher education sector.
Image: Parliament RSA/Supplied
More than 165,000 students across South Africa are unable to access their qualification certificates because of unpaid fees, as the country’s higher education debt crisis surges to R59 billion.
This emerged during a briefing to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Universities South Africa (USAF) and the South African Public Colleges Organisation on Friday.
DHET told the committee that 165 000 qualification certificates are currently being withheld due to outstanding student debt, describing the figure as “alarmingly high”. USAF, however, placed the number even higher, saying universities are withholding 188 209 certificates.
The committee heard that debt linked to students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) now stands at R29 billion, while self-funded students owe R26 billion. Institutions are also carrying R12 billion in irrecoverable debt.
Parliament’s Higher Education Committee warned that withholding certificates is trapping graduates in a cycle of unemployment and debt.
Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said students without certificates face slim chances of finding work.
“The statistics show that student debt is continuing to rise, which suggests that the measures put in place are not working as intended,” Letsie said.
“We all agree that NSFAS has shortcomings. However, the problem is that when a student leaves an institution without a certificate, their chances of finding a job and paying off that debt become even smaller, because they cannot prove that they have the qualifications needed for employment.”
The committee said ongoing reconciliation problems between NSFAS and universities remain one of the biggest contributors to student debt, alongside soaring accommodation costs and delayed NSFAS payments.
DHET said universities of technology are carrying the highest debt ratios, although traditional universities also continue to face major debt burdens.
The committee further warned that the financial stability of universities is increasingly tied to the survival of NSFAS.
“There is no university that will survive for five years if NSFAS collapses. It is in the best interests of everybody in the system to make sure that NSFAS does not collapse,” Letsie said.
Parliament has now called on the Department of Higher Education and Training to urgently resolve ongoing disputes between NSFAS and institutions and to accelerate efforts towards a sustainable student funding model.
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