FirstRand CEO Sizwe Nxasana has been appointed chairman of the embattled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) with effect from August 1.
Mr Nxasana‚ a seasoned corporate executive‚ will serve a four-year term ending in August 2019.
Mr Nxasana‚ who steps down as FirstRand CE in September‚ replaces Zamayedwa Sogayise‚ whose term ended in March 2015.
There are high expectations Mr Nxasana will help turnaround the troubled multibillion rand scheme‚ which has been dogged by corruption and mismanagement that has resulted in many disadvantaged young people missing out on higher education opportunities.
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced the appointment in Parliament on Wednesday and said Mr Nxasana’s experience in the financial sector‚ as well as his background as a chartered accountant‚ made him the ideal person to lead the scheme and address its challenges.
“Working together with the board and management of (the scheme)‚ Mr Nxasana is expected to put in place the necessary measures that will enable (it) to become a model public entity that complies fully with the provisions of its governing legislation‚” Mr Nzimande said.
Mr Nxasana will oversee a forensic investigation into the scheme‚ which the Higher Education Department has ordered.
A service provider‚ whose identity would be revealed in due course‚ had been appointed to conduct the forensic investigation into corrupt practices at the scheme‚ Mr Nzimande said.
The scheme gets a significant portion of the department’s budget — set at R39bn for 2014-15‚ of which the state funding vehicle was allocated R9.5bn‚ and was expected to rise to R46.3bn in 2017-18. But the distribution of the scheme’s loans has been at the centre of violent student protests on campuses throughout the country in recent years because of a funding shortfall.
Mr Nxasana said on Wednesday that his mission was to help address the scheme’s challenges and “elevate its efficiencies“.
He said: “I have an interest in education and I know that (the scheme) plays a key role ... I will help address ... the challenges.”
He would spend time with the board and the rest of the scheme’s team to understand its problems‚ he added.
Nxasana to take helm of embattled NSFAS
Mr Nxasana‚ a seasoned corporate executive‚ will serve a four-year term ending in August 2019.
Mr Nxasana‚ who steps down as FirstRand CE in September‚ replaces Zamayedwa Sogayise‚ whose term ended in March 2015.
There are high expectations Mr Nxasana will help turnaround the troubled multibillion rand scheme‚ which has been dogged by corruption and mismanagement that has resulted in many disadvantaged young people missing out on higher education opportunities.
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced the appointment in Parliament on Wednesday and said Mr Nxasana’s experience in the financial sector‚ as well as his background as a chartered accountant‚ made him the ideal person to lead the scheme and address its challenges.
“Working together with the board and management of (the scheme)‚ Mr Nxasana is expected to put in place the necessary measures that will enable (it) to become a model public entity that complies fully with the provisions of its governing legislation‚” Mr Nzimande said.
Mr Nxasana will oversee a forensic investigation into the scheme‚ which the Higher Education Department has ordered.
A service provider‚ whose identity would be revealed in due course‚ had been appointed to conduct the forensic investigation into corrupt practices at the scheme‚ Mr Nzimande said.
The scheme gets a significant portion of the department’s budget — set at R39bn for 2014-15‚ of which the state funding vehicle was allocated R9.5bn‚ and was expected to rise to R46.3bn in 2017-18. But the distribution of the scheme’s loans has been at the centre of violent student protests on campuses throughout the country in recent years because of a funding shortfall.
Mr Nxasana said on Wednesday that his mission was to help address the scheme’s challenges and “elevate its efficiencies“.
He said: “I have an interest in education and I know that (the scheme) plays a key role ... I will help address ... the challenges.”
He would spend time with the board and the rest of the scheme’s team to understand its problems‚ he added.
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