National Student Financial Aid Scheme Leadership Rebuts Finance Minister Amid Institutional Viability and Structural Reform Debates

Acting CEO Waseem Carrim responds to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s questions about NSFAS’s existence. Read why the scheme claims its role is critical.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 10, 2026, 5:28 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from EWN

Executive Leadership Challenges Ministerial Critique of Institutional Survival

The acting CEO of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), Waseem Carrim, has stepped forward to justify the entity's continued existence in the face of escalating skepticism from the National Treasury. Speaking on 702’s Drive with John Perlman, Carrim addressed recent comments by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who publicly questioned the logic of maintaining the scheme. The Minister’s critique centered on the entity’s reliance on third-party service providers to execute its core mandates, leading to a debate over whether the administrative overhead of NSFAS has become a redundant burden on the national fiscus.

Structural Shifts and the Burden of the 2017 Bursary Transition

According to Carrim, many of the current inefficiencies within the organization can be traced back to the fundamental policy shift in 2017, which transitioned NSFAS from a loan-based system to a bursary-based model. This change exponentially increased the administrative complexity and demand for higher education funding, often forcing the entity into a precarious financial position of having to "rob Peter to pay Paul" to meet immediate student needs. This structural imbalance has led to a documented breakage of trust between students, institutions, and the state, resulting in the "bumps and bruises" observed during recent academic registration periods.

Acknowledging a Legacy of Corruption and Systemic Ineffectiveness

In a rare moment of institutional candor, the acting CEO admitted that the scheme has been plagued by a myriad of internal failures, including fraud, corruption, and inadequate governance systems. Carrim noted that these downstream impacts have historically hindered the effective management of funds, contributing to the delays in accommodation and tuition payments that sparked widespread student protests last year. However, he argued that the organization is currently undergoing a stabilization phase, with the 2026 academic year showing a relatively stable start compared to the logistical chaos of previous cycles.