Manamela reveals Nsfas accommodation control failures
· Citizen
Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has revealed serious weaknesses in the management and accreditation of Nsfas-funded student accommodation.
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He revealed this while answering oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
Manamela answered questions on Thursday about the state of student accommodation funded through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas). This came amid concerns over whether properties housing students met the required safety and accreditation standards.
He said the department had been informed of “serious weaknesses” in the management and accreditation of Nsfas-funded accommodation.
“The department does not regard the accreditation of unsafe or uninhabitable accommodation as a minor administrative failure: it places students at risk and undermines confidence in the student funding system,” Manamela said.
Accommodation audit under way
Manamela said accommodation must be assessed against the applicable Minimum Norms and Standards and Nsfas accreditation requirements.
The monitoring process includes physical inspections and grading. It also includes verification of approved bed capacity and checks of relevant health, safety, and municipal compliance documentation.
Complaints from students and institutions must trigger re-inspections. In addition, providers can be suspended or have their accreditation withdrawn if they fail to meet the required standards.
“Nsfas has also commenced a national audit of previously accredited accommodation, supported by institutions and student representatives,” Manamela said.
He said fragmented responsibility and incomplete building-level data had made it difficult to confirm in real time that every funded property remained compliant after its initial accreditation. Consequently, this creates challenges for ongoing compliance checks.
The audit will establish a single verified property register that records ownership, capacity, grade, inspector, accreditation date and validity, complaints, remedial action, and payment status.
62 958 students in non-accredited accommodation
Manamela said Nsfas had not yet produced a verified building-level count of properties that had been accredited despite being non-compliant since 2023.
“It would be misleading to give parliament an unverified number,” he said.
However, Nsfas had separately reported, from institutional registration data, that 62 958 students were being funded for accommodation recorded as non-accredited.
This included 20 613 students at 10 universities and 42 345 students at 34 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
Manamela said the figure did not answer how many buildings were non-compliant. Nevertheless, it demonstrated the scale of the control failure that needed to be reconciled.
Audit to establish accountability
The records before the department did not identify a completed disciplinary finding against an individual official specifically for approving a non-compliant building since 2023.
“That is not a satisfactory position,” Manamela said.
He said the audit must identify who inspected, recommended and approved each property.
Where negligence, misrepresentation, fraud or a conflict of interest is established, consequences could include disciplinary action against employees.
“Furthermore, termination or sanctions against accreditation agents and providers, recovery of losses, and referrals to the Special Investigating Unit or law-enforcement agencies where warranted could result.”
Manamela said the immediate priority was to protect students by removing unsafe properties from the funded network. The plan is to place affected students in suitable accommodation without disrupting their studies.
He also said parliament must receive a verified property-level report with clear findings and consequences.
“An audit is necessary, but it is not a substitute for accountability,” Manamela said.