Issued by Ismail Joosub on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation, on 25/04/2024

“The resignation of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (‘NSFAS’) board’s chairperson and the recent decision by the Higher Education and Training Minister to dissolve the board and place NSFAS under administration reflects systemic failures detrimental to both students and the future of our economy”, states Ismail Joosub, Legal Officer of Constitutional Programmes at the FW de Klerk Foundation.

The Constitution enshrines the right to not just basic education, but also further education in section 29(1)(b). The State is obligated to make this right progressively available and accessible to everyone through reasonable measures. NSFAS is the way that the State has chosen to do this.

“The FW de Klerk Foundation condemns the maladministration within NSFAS, which directly contravenes the State’s constitutional obligation to progressively make the right to further education available and accessible. The Foundation underscores the critical importance of upholding constitutional provisions in the realm of public administration,” Joosub emphasised.

South Africa has a shrinking tax base and a desperate shortage of skilled workers in almost all sectors. On the bright side, we also have a large youth population (18- to 34-year-olds), who make up approximately a third of the country’s entire population. This means that we have a large future generation who are ready to enter the workforce as taxpayers (to remain for a long time) and that they are in their prime upskilling life phase. 

“Despite the large size of the youth population, approximately 63,9% of 15- to 24-year-olds are unemployed. This is almost double the national unemployment rate of 32,1%. Furthermore, of the youth population only 13% (approximately) are graduates. What this tells us is that South Africa, to its own detriment, is failing to make the right to further education a reality,” states Daniela Ellerbeck, the Foundation’s Constitutional Programmes Manager.

The FW de Klerk Foundation reiterates its unwavering commitment to upholding the dictates of the Constitution in education and public administration. 

“For our nation to have a future”, Joosub concludes, “we must prioritise accountability, transparency, and fiscal responsibility within NSFAS”.