NSFAS placed under administration — for the third time

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · May 04, 2026 · 485 words · By Tamar Kahn

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What to know about NSFAS placed under administration — for the third time

Higher education & training minister Buti Manamela has dissolved the board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and placed it under administration, he announced on Monday.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Higher education & training minister Buti Manamela has dissolved the board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and placed it under administration, he announced on Monday.

Why it matters

This marks the third time since 2018 that NSFAS, which provides financial support to more than 1.2-million students, has been placed under administration.

Common ground

Freeman Nomvalo was administrator between April 2024 and February 2025, while Randal Carolissen held the post between August 2018 and December 2021.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: NSFAS placed under administration — for the third time?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The NSFAS Act says there should be 18 board members?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-05-04-breaking-nsfas-placed-under-administra…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

schedule Pending 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

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Claim 1: “The NSFAS Act says there should be 18 board members”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 2: “He has also served as an adviser to the governor of the South African Reserve Bank.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny if he served as an adviser to the governor of the South African Reserve Bank.

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Claim 3: “NSFAS received a disclaimer from the auditor-general for its 2024/25 annual report”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources quote the Minister mentioning the '2024/25 disclaimer audit outcome' as a reason for the administration.

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web search NEUTRAL — “In March this year, I issued a formal Ministerial Directive to NSFAS in terms of the NSFAS Act,” he said. He said it followed “serious concerns arising from, among other matters, the 2024/25 disclaim…
https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-05-04-nsfas-placed-…

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web search NEUTRAL — “In March this year, I issued a formal Ministerial Directive to NSFAS in terms of the NSFAS Act,” he said, noting it followed “serious concerns arising from, among other matters, the 2024/25 disclaime…
https://dfa.co.za/news/2026-05-04-nsfas-plunged-into-adminis…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Auditor-General of South Africa has delivered a damning report on the state of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), revealing staggering levels of irregular expenditure and governanc…
https://insideeducation.co.za/nsfas-audit-reveals-numerous-s…

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Claim 4: “Randal Carolissen held the post between August 2018 and December 2021.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm Randall Carolissen was appointed administrator in 2018 and his term was extended until December 2021.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a South African government student financial aid scheme which provides financial aid to undergraduate students to help pay for the cost of their te…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Student_Financial_Aid…

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web search NEUTRAL — Carolissen was appointed as the administrator of Nsfas in 2018 by former higher education minister Naledi Pandor for a year, but his term was extended by Department of Higher Education, Science and In…
https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/carolissen-resurfaces-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is calling on all young South Africans who have not yet applied for 2019 financial aid to submit their onli...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz6PBO53yu0

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 5: “The board was appointed in February 2025 by Manamela’s predecessor, Nobuhle Nkabane.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about diamond rings; there is no evidence regarding Nobuhle Nkabane appointing a board in February 2025.

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web search NEUTRAL — They made a lineup of expertly designed, made-to-order diamond engagement rings, all with delicate, modern designs — many of which are solitaires, like this minimalistic emerald-cut solitaire diamond …
https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/solitaire-engagement-r…

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web search NEUTRAL — From the iconic Tiffany-style to sleek modern bezel settings, solitaire rings offer a wide range of designs while maintaining their signature simplicity. Whether you choose a thin, delicate band or a …
https://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/

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web search NEUTRAL — Solitaire wedding rings pair seamlessly with any band style, from plain metal to diamond-studded designs. The minimalist setting directs attention to diamond quality, making cut, clarity, and carat we…
https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/

info

Claim 6: “NSFAS... provides financial support to more than 1.2-million students”

SINGLE SOURCE

While search results confirm NSFAS provides financial support, none of the provided evidence snippets specify the number of students as 'more than 1.2-million'.

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web search NEUTRAL — National Student Financial Aid Scheme...
https://my.nsfas.org.za/

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web search NEUTRAL — The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), the cornerstone of South Africa’s.Students and Oversight. The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has expressed grave concerns over the “revolvin…
https://nsfas-application.org.za/nsfas-under-fire-over-board…

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web search NEUTRAL — NSFAS Students at Risk of Gambling Addiction. The NSFAS provides financial support to students from households with an income of less than R350,000 per year.
https://haybowena.co.za/nsfas-students-accused-of-wasting-ta…

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Claim 7: “NSFAS has also lacked stability at the executive level, with an acting CEO and acting CFO for more than a year”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Hlengani Mathebula has been appointed administrator for 24 months or until a new board has been appointed”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the appointment of Prof Hlengani Mathebula as administrator for a term of 24 months or until a new board is appointed.

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web search NEUTRAL — Prof Hlengani Mathebula has been appointed administrator for 24 months, or until a new board has been appointed. Manamela said the move was intended as a “temporary but necessary intervention to resto…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/2026-05-04-breaking-nsfas-p…

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web search NEUTRAL — NSFAS has been placed under administration amid governance and audit failures, with professor Hlengani Mathebula appointed to stabilise student funding operatio.
https://mg.co.za/education/2026-05-04-nsfas-placed-under-adm…

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web search NEUTRAL — NSFAS has been placed under administration following persistent governance challenges, audit findings and system failures, with government saying the intervention is necessary to restore stability and…
https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-05-04-nsfas-placed-…

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Claim 9: “Higher education & training minister Buti Manamela has dissolved the board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and placed it under administration”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Minister Buti Manamela dissolved the NSFAS board and placed the organization under administration to restore institutional credibility.

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web search NEUTRAL — Minister (government) ... A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, [1][2] making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_(government)

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web search NEUTRAL — MINISTER definition: a person authorized to conduct religious worship; member of the clergy; pastor. See examples of minister used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/minister

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 10: “only 11 were appointed by Nkabane, and by last week only seven remained.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “Freeman Nomvalo was administrator between April 2024 and February 2025”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Freeman Nomvalo served as the special administrator for NSFAS between April 2024 and February 2025.

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web search NEUTRAL — Between April 2024 and February 2025, Freeman Nomvalo made R5.5 million as the special administrator for NSFAS, the tertiary education bursary scheme from the South African government.
https://htxt.co.za/2025/06/nsfas-admin-scored-r5-5m-salary-i…

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web search NEUTRAL — SAICA. Prabashini Moodley. 13 April 2024, 14:02 [SAST].The Higher Education Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, announced the appointment of Nomvalo on Friday. This after he placed the embattled entity under…
https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/freeman-nomvalo-as-nsfas-a…

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web search NEUTRAL — After dissolving the board of the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) for poor management, Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande quickly appointed Sithembiso Freeman Nom…
https://elitshanews.org.za/2024/04/15/nzimande-puts-nsfas-un…

schedule

Claim 12: “Late last year, Manamela instituted a high court review of the NSFAS board appointed by Nkabane”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 13: “Mathabula’s current board memberships include chair of the Media Development and Diversity Agency and nonexecutive director of retail giant Shoprite”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny Mathebula's board memberships.

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Claim 14: “This marks the third time since 2018 that NSFAS... has been placed under administration.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources explicitly state that this is the third time NSFAS has been placed under administration since 2018.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Faleolo International Airport (IATA: APW, ICAO: NSFA) is an airport located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Apia, the capital of Samoa. Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boein…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faleolo_International_Airport

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Universities South Africa (USAf), formerly known as Higher Education South Africa (HESA), is an intermediary that represents all 26 public universities leaders to the general public and acts in the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universities_South_Africa

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.