South Africa’s higher education sector has been hit by extensive financial and governance problems, with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) uncovering billions of rand in questionable expenditure and alleged misconduct. The SIU investigation includes findings involving NSFAS, universities, TVET colleges and the National Skills Fund. The cases range from irregular tenders and non-qualifying students to alleged fake qualifications and projects that failed to deliver.
The SIU briefed Parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education on Wednesday on the progress of its investigations into the Department of Higher Education and Training and institutions within its portfolio. Between 2017 and 2025, the unit received 14 proclamations to investigate matters in the sector. Eight investigations have been finalised, while six remain ongoing.
The biggest financial issue highlighted during the briefing involved the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and its direct payment system. The SIU said NSFAS awarded a five-year contract worth R49 billion to Coinvest Africa, Tenet Technology, Ezaga Holdings and Norraco Corporation despite what investigators described as serious procurement failures.
SIU Investigation Finds R49 Billion NSFAS Tender Was Unlawful
The SIU investigation into NSFAS found that the tender committee responsible for the direct payment contract had not been properly constituted. One member participated as an “external expert”, despite the rules making no provision for such a position, while the scheme’s former CEO participated in questions to bidders despite attending as an observer.
The SIU also found that panel members assessed only two bids each instead of evaluating all the bidders. According to the unit, this made it “impossible to have a fair and equitable manner of evaluating the bids”.
The dispute reached the Western Cape High Court, which on 11 June declared the appointment of the four service providers unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. The court also set aside the service-level agreement linked to the R49 billion contract.
The former NSFAS CEO has since been referred to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation for a criminal investigation and has faced internal disciplinary proceedings.
The SIU’s forensic accountants have also been examining NSFAS payments to determine what was paid to institutions compared with what was actually owed. Their work identified issues involving overpayments and underpayments, missing students, reversed funding decisions and students allegedly receiving NSFAS support alongside funding from other sources.
SIU Finds 40,044 Non-Qualifying NSFAS Students
The NSFAS investigation found that 40,044 university and TVET college students did not qualify for bursary funding but received payments between 2018 and 2021. The total value of the payments was just over R5.1 billion.
The SIU has interviewed more than 15,000 of the affected students and their parents. Institutions have so far signed acknowledgements of debt worth almost R161 million as part of efforts to recover the money.
Investigators have visited 58 institutions across all nine provinces to work on “close-out reports”, which reconcile amounts paid with funding that should have been provided. The University of Fort Hare returned more than R277 million, while the University of Pretoria repaid almost R476 million and the University of Free State returned more than R625 million.
Some institutions have disputed the findings and maintain that NSFAS owes them money. The SIU also identified weaknesses in NSFAS’s internal systems, including poorly controlled database access and activity logs that only began in 2019 after the logging function had apparently been switched off.
SIU Flags Fort Hare Qualifications, Contracts And Cattle Allegations
The SIU investigation at the University of Fort Hare has uncovered allegations involving procurement, student accommodation, cleaning services, air-conditioning maintenance, CCTV installations and the institution’s Nguni cattle herd.
The investigation has resulted in 252 criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority and 29 matters being referred to the Special Tribunal. Those matters involve contracts worth more than R656 million, while another R185 million in cases remains pending referral.
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The SIU also raised concerns about Prof Edwin Ijeoma, a former head of department, who allegedly authorised payments exceeding R4.1 million to his own company for work connected to a university project. Investigators also questioned a master’s qualification he listed on his CV from Kensington University in California, which the SIU said was not accredited until 1996.
A criminal referral for fraud has been made against Ijeoma. The university’s internal audit also identified “a series of governance failures” involving the Nguni Cattle Development Trust, with a former official accused of taking more than 150 cattle belonging to community members who were supposed to benefit from the trust.
The SIU further found that 84 students received honours degrees between 2006 and 2019 despite not meeting the university’s admission requirements. Investigators are also examining the registration of hundreds of law students who may not have met the requirements for enrolment.
SIU Investigation Into Rabbit Farming Project Finds R35.6 Million Paid
The SIU investigation into the National Skills Fund has also uncovered problems with a project intended to develop a rabbit-farming value chain in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal. The initiative was designed to train 250 learners in rabbit farming and eventually supply rabbit meat to local and international markets.
Yikhonolakho, the company behind the project, received more than R35.6 million from the fund. However, the SIU said the project proposal was changed to general animal farming, only 43 learners were reported to have received training and investigators found far fewer rabbits than the number invoiced for.
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The company expected to supply the rabbits was liquidated before any deliveries took place. When investigators visited the intended beneficiary community, they found that “no one knew anything about the Rabbit Value Chain”.
The SIU said millions of rand were subsequently moved into a separate “money-on-call” investment account. Another National Skills Fund project worth R187 million was intended to restore artisan training facilities at Ingwe TVET College in the Eastern Cape, but the SIU said learners were paid despite no training taking place and the promised facilities not being built.
SIU Probe Saves VUT R109 Million On Security Contract
At Vaal University of Technology (VUT), the SIU investigation resulted in the cancellation of a campus security and protection contract. The intervention is estimated to have saved the university R109 million.
Eleven disciplinary referrals have been made against current and former university officials in connection with the contract. The case has also resulted in several criminal and administrative referrals.
The investigation followed a 2020 request from then Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande after independent assessors identified what the SIU described as evidence of corruption and procurement manipulation at the institution.
Among the investigations already completed is a case involving Ikhala Further Education and Training College in the Eastern Cape. Former internal audit director Mtunase Hargreaves Kali was found to have used a Mazda while claiming travel allowances for a Volvo and failed to disclose a business interest that conflicted with his official responsibilities.
Kali was dismissed and faces fraud and theft charges. Former college principal Cwayita Valeria Zituta was also dismissed after the SIU found that she paid a supplier for 32 billboards that were never delivered and purchased a guesthouse, which she said was intended to serve as student accommodation, without following the required procurement process.
At Mpumalanga’s Gert Sibande TVET College, the SIU is pursuing civil litigation worth almost R3.5 million. The investigation found that officials awarded contracts for online learning systems and cybersecurity software without following a competitive tender process.
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The SIU told MPs that it would continue encouraging institutions to implement its systemic recommendations while working to conclude the six investigations that remain outstanding.
