Nominations/Applications: NSFAS Board vacancies

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a statutory body — meaning it was created by law — that exists to help eligible students at higher education institutions pay for their studies through loans and bursaries. NSFAS does a lot more than just hand out money: it sets the rules and conditions for who qualifies for financial aid, raises additional funding, recovers loans from past recipients, maintains and analyses a large database of student information, and conducts research to make sure financial resources are used as effectively as possible. NSFAS also plays an advisory role, giving guidance to the Minister of Higher Education and Training on matters related to student financial aid, and it can take on additional duties that the Minister assigns to it.

Like many statutory bodies, NSFAS is governed by a Board that provides oversight and strategic direction. Board members serve for a fixed term, and when vacancies arise — whether because a member has resigned, been removed, or a new appointment is needed — the Department of Higher Education and Training runs a public nominations process to find suitable candidates. The current Board's term runs until 31 January 2029, and there are vacancies that need to be filled for the remainder of that term.

This call for nominations directly affects anyone who believes they have the skills, experience, and availability to serve on the NSFAS Board. South African citizens or residents with relevant backgrounds — for example in finance, education, law, student affairs, or public administration — are the primary audience for this notice, as they are the ones who can put themselves forward or be nominated by others.

More broadly, the composition of the NSFAS Board affects millions of South African students who rely on NSFAS funding to access higher education. The Board sets the tone for how NSFAS is run, how criteria for loans and bursaries are developed, and how the organisation manages its resources. So while the immediate audience is potential nominees, the downstream impact of who sits on this Board touches every student, family, and institution connected to NSFAS-funded higher education in South Africa.

Higher education institutions and the broader higher education sector are also indirectly affected, since NSFAS funding decisions and policies shaped at Board level influence how many students can afford to enrol and stay enrolled at universities and colleges.

The Department of Higher Education and Training is inviting members of the public to nominate suitable candidates — or to apply themselves — to fill vacant seats on the NSFAS Board. These are not new, permanent positions; the successful candidates will serve only for the remaining portion of the current Board's term, which ends on 31 January 2029.

To be considered, a nomination must include three things: a completed nomination and declaration of interest form (the NSFAS Board Consent Form, which is available from the Department), the nominee's curriculum vitae (CV), and a letter of consent from the nominee confirming that they are available and willing to serve on the Board if appointed. All of these documents must be emailed together to Ms Seputu Mampane at nsfasboard2026@dhet.gov.za. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, 19 November 2026 — no late submissions will be accepted.

The Government notice relating to this process is also available for those who want to read the formal legal announcement. The process is essentially the Department's way of ensuring that the public has a chance to put forward capable people, and that the Board vacancies are filled in a transparent and open manner.

NSFAS is one of the most important institutions in South African higher education. For hundreds of thousands of young South Africans from low-income households, NSFAS funding is the only reason they are able to attend university or a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college. The people who sit on the NSFAS Board make and oversee critical decisions about how that funding is managed, who qualifies, and how the organisation runs.

When Board vacancies go unfilled or are filled with the wrong people, it can weaken the oversight of NSFAS and lead to poor decision-making, mismanagement, or delays in getting aid to students who desperately need it. South Africans have seen in recent years how administrative and governance problems at NSFAS can result in students not receiving their allowances on time, disputes over eligibility, and a loss of public trust in the system. Strong, capable Board members are therefore essential to making sure NSFAS functions properly.

This nomination process is an opportunity for civil society, communities, and individuals with relevant expertise to ensure that the right people — those with integrity, relevant skills, and a genuine commitment to student welfare — are put forward for these roles. If good candidates are not nominated, the vacancies may be filled without adequate public input, which could affect the quality of governance at NSFAS for the remainder of the Board's term through to early 2029.