Two senior officials from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) have resigned after The Sunday Independent exposé that the agency was paying almost R2m a month to rent an office block, while students all over the country were struggling with their accommodation and tuition fees.

Most students across the country have been forced to take their classes online due to ongoing protests after NSFAS introduced a new policy to cap its student accommodation allowance at R45 000 a year, as part of cost-cutting measures.

But NSFAS management and its board saw nothing wrong with moving from a building where they were paying R603 000 rent per month to new offices where they are paying almost R2m a month.

The Sunday Independent reports that NSFAS COO Nthuseng Mphahlele and senior manager of supply chain management Krishen George have resigned.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago confirmed that this lease agreement would be added to the investigations the unit has been conducting into ‘maladministration in the affairs of NSFAS’, as per the proclamation signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

NSFAS said it was in the process of identifying alternative accommodation facilities within the stipulated rate of R45 000 a year.

Students’ Representative Councils believe these allowance limits are not feasible because of the high costs of living and housing.

Full report in The Sunday Independent