Parliament Demands Probe into 'Ghost Beds' Draining Billions from NSFAS
Portfolio Committee warns public funds were looted through misrepresented student accommodation, calls for accountability of accrediting and payment entities
The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has called for a thorough forensic investigation into accommodation providers who misrepresent the number of student beds they have, resulting in billions of rands being drained from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to pay for non-existent beds.
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) briefed the committee today on registration and enrolments in the post-school education and training sector for the 2026 academic year.
Committee Chairperson Mr Tebogo Letsie said: “This suggests that billions in public funds meant to support students may have been lost, and we cannot ignore this. The forensic investigation must determine who enabled this alleged corruption.
“If Solution Partners were responsible for accrediting accommodation and processing payments, they cannot claim ignorance, as they were directly involved in payments to service providers.”
The committee commended the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) for releasing findings from its two-year investigation into corruption risks and governance failures in the NSFAS student accommodation system.
The committee further noted that while NSFAS has improved the timely disbursement of funds to institutions, some institutions are now delaying the release of student stipends, which is causing students to protest.
The committee also expressed disappointment that DHET could not provide enrolment numbers for 2026 as requested. The committee said it was concerned that DHET’s university branch was unable to present preliminary enrolment figures, while all 50 technical and vocational education and training colleges and community education and training institutions had submitted theirs.
The committee said these enrolment figures are critical, as when the Department of Basic Education releases matric results, institutions should be able to align available spaces with the number of learners entering the system.
The committee also called for an investigation into the appointment of Izikhova Security Services at the Durban University of Technology, following allegations by students that they were assaulted by the security company.
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