By Mbulelo Baloyi
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has recovered over R800 million in unallocated National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of the Free State (UFS).
The funds, collected over a number of years, amounted to R450 million from Wits and R438 million from UFS.
The SIU confirmed that these payments were made directly to NSFAS as part of its ongoing inquiry into the fund’s finances.
In June last year, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) also returned R311 million in unallocated NSFAS funds from 2016 to 2021.
This investigation follows a major error years ago when Intellimali, a payment management and administration service that distributes NSFAS funding to students, mistakenly transferred R14 million instead of a R1,400 allowance to a Walter Sisulu University student.
The student spent over R800,000 on parties, clothes and alcohol before the error was detected.
Pictured above: Witwatersrand University.
Source: Facebook/ @Wits-Watersrand University
