By Johnathan Paoli

The Higher Education and Training Department has unveiled its 2025/26 budget vote, reaffirming its commitment to building an inclusive, equitable and responsive post-school education and training (PSET) system tailored to the needs of South Africa’s youth and national development.

Minister Nobuhle Nkabane presented the R142.7 billion allocation amid a challenging funding environment, following the abrupt cessation of the United States support to South African universities and researchers, which affected half of the country’s 26 public universities.

The department’s budget has increased by an average of 4.4% annually in nominal terms for the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period.

“Our commitment remains steadfast: to build a post-school education and training system that is inclusive, equitable and responsive to the needs of our young people and our nation,” Nkabane said.

The minister highlighted ongoing infrastructure projects, including the completion of phase one of the University of North-West’s Mining Campus by 2030 and the refurbishment of the former Giyani College of Education into a state-of-the-art Tshwane University of Technology campus, set to welcome its first students in 2026.

She praised the government’s efforts to expand access and modernise facilities, particularly in underserved regions.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges received a boosted budget of R14 billion for 2025/26, up from R13.1 billion the previous year, with projections of R14.7 billion next year.

The government is committed to repositioning TVET as a first-choice pathway, combating long-standing perceptions of vocational training as a “backup plan.”

The National Skills Fund (NSF) and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) have a combined budget of R26 billion this year, rising to R27.8 billion to accelerate artisan development.

The National Apprenticeship and Artisan Development Strategy aims to produce 30,000 qualified artisans annually by 2030, with 20,000 targeted in 2025/26.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) budget increases from R48.7 billion in 2024/25 to R51 billion in 2025/26, further rising to R53.4 billion in 2027.

NSFAS currently supports over 811,000 students, including 580,000 university and 231,000 TVET learners.

Nkabane stressed the appointment of a new NSFAS board led by Karen Stender, emphasising a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and maladministration.

Key reform priorities include organisational redesign, loan management, sustainable funding models, student accommodation policies and digital transformation initiatives to harmonise ICT infrastructure across institutions.

In response to court rulings requiring termination of contracts with fintech intermediaries and costly lease agreements, NSFAS is decentralising operations to improve accessibility and financial efficiency. The department is also investigating student accommodation intermediaries charging excessive fees.

Recognising high youth unemployment, the department has set ambitious targets for workplace-based learning – 90,000 opportunities for 2025/26, and 500,000 over the medium term.

These include learnerships, internships and work-integrated learning.

The National Skills Fund will also fund 1000 beneficiaries under Just Energy Transition skills programmes, covering a broad range of occupations to support South Africa’s transition to a greener economy.

South Africa’s assumption of the 2025 G20 Presidency places the department at the forefront of international education collaboration.

It is leading the G20 Education Working Group alongside Basic Education, hosting key meetings in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces.

Priority areas include foundational learning, mutual recognition of qualifications and professional development for changing global contexts.

To adapt to evolving higher education challenges, the department is reviewing and amending key statutes including the Higher Education and Training Act, Continuing Education and Training Act, NSFAS Act, and Skills Development Act.

These reforms aim to improve system efficiency, coordination and responsiveness to 21st-century demands.

Mpumalanga education MEC Cathy Dlamini endorsed the budget, calling it “progressive” and essential for expanding vocational training and higher education access in her province.

She linked the budget to the Youth Month theme, emphasising skills development for meaningful economic participation and applauded the province’s efforts to boost technical schools and improve matric results.

ANC Limpopo MP Malesela Mokwele described the R142.7 billion allocation as a “moral imperative,” focusing on skills development, job creation and transformation of rural and historically disadvantaged institutions.

He highlighted efforts to increase university lecturers with doctoral degrees and boost research capacity.

In a robust response to opposition criticism, Nkabane asserted that rejecting the budget was tantamount to opposing transformation in the PSET sector.

She emphasised the department’s commitment to rooting out corruption and maladministration, clarifying financial management details and NSFAS reforms.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Levy Masiteng

The Gauteng department of education (GDE) has urged the national Basic Education Department to fast track its verification process of education and general assistants to ensure that they are paid without further delay.

“The DBE acknowledged that their new centralised payment system introduced for Phase V is experiencing challenges such as verifying candidate ID numbers against the Department of Home Affairs database, matching those ID numbers and names to the correct bank account details and resolving discrepancies where candidate data does not align with application data on the SAYouth platform,” GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said on Tuesday.

He said that while the DBE had indicated that these processes were intended to strengthen accountability and reduce the risk of fraud, they have caused widespread delay in releasing payments to some candidates, including in Gauteng.

This follows the GDE warning that about 8000 assistants in Gauteng were facing potential delays in their first payment cycle. 

“We remain hopeful that the DBE will fast-track and conclude their verification processes to ensure that all youth employed at our schools are paid without any further delay,” Mabona said in a statement.

He said Gauteng’s data verification was largely completed and validated at school and district level, however, some assistants “remain affected by this delay due to the DBE national centralisation of the payment process”.

The assistants were placed at schools from 1 June as part of the Basic Education Employment Initiative, which is aimed at supporting teaching and learning at schools.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Democratic Alliance has laid criminal charges against Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, accusing her of lying to Parliament and facilitating African National Congress cadre deployment in key public institutions.

DA MP and national spokesperson Karabo Khakhau, who submitted the charges, accused Nkabane of misleading Parliament about the appointment process for board chairpersons of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

“This is not a case of poor judgment, it is a flagrant and deliberate attempt to deceive Parliament and the South African people. Minister Nkabane has broken the law, violated her oath of office and enabled the continued abuse of public resources to benefit ANC loyalists,” Khakhau said on Tuesday.

The charges, filed at the Cape Town Central Police Station, mark an escalation in the DA’s campaign against what it calls “systemic corruption” under the ANC-led Government of National Unity (GNU).

According to Khakhau, the minister falsely claimed that the appointments were made by an “independent evaluation panel”.

In reality, the panel included her own staff members and political allies, including her chief of staff and a leader of the ANC Youth League.

The most damning evidence cited by the DA is Nkabane’s earlier claim that renowned senior counsel Terry Motau chaired the panel.

Motau has since submitted a formal written denial, stating he neither led nor participated in the process.

In line with the criminal complaint, the DA announced that it would vote against the Higher Education and Training Department’s budget, arguing that it could not in good conscience endorse R19 billion in expenditure under the leadership of a minister who is “under criminal investigation”.

The party also indicated it would oppose other department budgets led by ANC ministers it viewed as complicit in corruption, including those of Thembi Simelane, David Mahlobo and Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

DA federal chairperson Helen Zille joined Khakhau at the police station where she criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa for failing to act against Nkabane.

“This is a blatant double standard, Minister Nkabane misled Parliament which is a criminal offence. Yet she remains in Cabinet, while DA Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield was dismissed for a procedural travel matter. Ramaphosa punishes loyalty, but protects criminality,” Zille said.

Khakhau previously held that the party had already lodged complaints with Parliament’s Ethics Committee and the Public Protector, calling the criminal case “step three” of a coordinated plan that began in May.

“We’ve exhausted internal mechanisms, the president has made his priorities clear and the ANC has given marching orders to shield their own. If Parliament won’t act, the DA will,” she said.

The controversy over the SETA appointments comes as Nkabane faces growing pressure from civil society, particularly student organisations.

The South African Students Congress (Sasco) has accused the minister of appointing an “illegally constituted” NSFAS board earlier this year and failing to comply with basic governance provisions in the NSFAS Act.

According to Sasco, the board lacks required representatives from student bodies and the National Treasury, which raises concerns over financial oversight and democratic participation.

“Her attempt to co-opt students after the fact is not only illegal, but also an insult to participatory governance,” Sasco president Alungile Kamtshe said on Sunday.

Sasco has issued a deadline for Nkabane to reconstitute the board by Friday or face legal action and national student protests beginning 1 August.

The student organisation has also decried chronic delays in NSFAS allowances and the student housing crisis, blaming the minister for “structural violence against the working class”.

Experts say the criminal charges could have serious legal consequences if prosecuted.

Under the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, knowingly misleading Parliament can amount to fraud with precedent in the case of former ANC MP Tony Yengeni, who was convicted in 2003.

The DA has framed its actions not as GNU sabotage, but as a necessary stand against corruption.

“We joined the GNU to fight corruption, not to enable it,” Khakhau said.

Nkabane’s office declined to comment, citing ongoing legal processes.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has written to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) following allegations of irregular, wasteful and potentially fraudulent expenditure amounting to at least R145 million paid to private student accommodation intermediaries.

EFF Higher Education Portfolio Committee member Sihle Lozi wrote a letter to NSFAS acting CEO Waseem Carrim asking for the details of the contracts.

“These questions go to the heart of transparency, legal compliance and financial accountability. Given the public interest and the scale of taxpayer funding involved, we trust that you will treat this matter with the utmost seriousness and urgency,” Lozi said.

The revelations, which were raised during a parliamentary sitting, have sparked renewed concerns over governance, transparency and accountability within the embattled scheme.

The controversy centres on four private companies contracted by NSFAS to facilitate student accommodation services and process payments to landlords.

According to figures presented by Carrim, the companies collectively charged a 5% transaction fee on all disbursements, resulting in R145 million in commissions from R2.9 billion disbursed in 2024 alone.

However, this figure could be significantly higher when calculated over the full R14 billion that NSFAS spends annually on student housing.

In the letter, Lonzi raised alarm at the growing crisis of defunded students, unresolved appeals and chronic delays in disbursements that have plagued the higher education sector for years.

Of particular concern are whistleblower allegations that the four intermediaries were never legally authorised to disburse payments to landlords, but allegedly assumed the role without formal contractual amendment or proper regulatory approval.

The EFF has demanded that NSFAS furnish answers to eight questions. They include the full legal identities of the four companies involved, whether their original contracts permitted them to manage financial transactions, a copy of each contract, including dates of award, scope, and payment terms, the total amount paid to each provider since the inception of their contracts, proof of valid Financial Services Provider (FSP) licences for each company, and details of the categories of services they are authorised to perform.

The situation has drawn significant attention due to the broader issues plaguing NSFAS, which has repeatedly faced accusations of mismanagement, corruption and failure to deliver essential support to qualifying students.

Earlier this year, the scheme came under fire over its direct payment system, which had already been marred by delays, system errors and complaints from students and landlords alike.

Despite repeated interventions and leadership changes, including the appointment of Carrim as acting CEO following a governance shake-up, critics say the problems have persisted and worsened.

In Parliament, Carrim confirmed the 5% commission model, justifying it as a standard facilitation fee.

With millions of rands potentially at stake, and thousands of students left in limbo, the EFF has warned that it would seek court intervention if satisfactory responses were not provided by the deadline of 9 July.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Democratic Alliance will lay charges against Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane on Tuesday for allegedly lying to Parliament over the appointment of an “independent panel” to select board chairpersons for Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

“While the president continues to take no action against African National Congress (ANC) corruption in the national executive, the DA will use every means we can to fight it,” the party said.

The charges will be laid at the Cape Town Central Police Station, just hours before Nkabane’s budget debate in the National Council of Provinces.

The DA contends that the ministers’ conduct constitutes a serious breach of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act and the Powers and Privileges of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.

The party alleges that Nkabane misled Parliament about the composition, independence and appointment process of the panel that selected the SETA board chairs.

The party said this was a textbook example of cadre deployment disguised as independent oversight. It accused Nkabane of not only misleading Parliament, but also insulting the public’s intelligence by pretending the panel was impartial.

This latest move comes as tensions rise in the Government of National Unity following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dismissal of DA trade and industry deputy minister Andrew Whitfield.

Ramaphosa removed Whitfield for failing to follow proper procedures regarding an international trip.

In protest, the DA withdrew from the National Dialogue over the weekend and has threatened to hold “corrupt” ANC ministers to account by voting against their budgets.

Speaking before the launch of a training centre at the South West Gauteng TVET College in Soweto, Nkabane told reporters it was the prerogative of Ramaphosa to redeploy members of his executive.

“It is the prerogative of the president to appoint or redeploy ministers. I cannot speak for that. But as a department, we remain focused on our work and are ready to present our budget vote in both the NCOP and the National Assembly,” she said.

Nkabane acknowledged that her department had made missteps in appointing senior counsel Terry Tlou as the chair of the independent panel without full legal vetting.

“I’m not a legal person; we didn’t realise the implications of appointing a legal practitioner under certain conditions. I sent an apology to Advocate Tlou last week, and he accepted,” she said.

Nkabane confirmed that she had received correspondence from Parliament’s Ethics Committee and would respond on Wednesday.

INSIDE EDUCATION