About R320 million intended to support South African students is sitting dormant in accounts linked to the now-discontinued Celbux payment system, according to findings by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
The money is linked to the former National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) voucher-based payment system, which was discontinued in 2022 when the scheme moved towards paying student allowances directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
The SIU says it has encountered resistance from some higher education institutions over the recovery of these funds, with institutions arguing that NSFAS itself owes them money from previous academic years.
The findings were presented to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Higher Education as the SIU provided an update on its investigations into problems within the student financial aid system.
R320 million remains dormant
The SIU found that numerous Celbux accounts dating back to 2018 remain active despite the system having been discontinued.
The combined value of the dormant balances is estimated at R320 million.
Celbux operated by generating vouchers against the cellphone numbers of registered students, allowing student allowances to be distributed through the system.
The SIU has so far visited 58 higher education institutions across all nine provinces as part of its investigation and close-out process.
Most of the institutions visited were reportedly aware that they had credit balances that would ultimately have to be returned to NSFAS once the reconciliation and close-out process was completed.
However, the SIU said some institutions had taken a different position.
“Some institutions are adamant that they are not willing to repay the money to NSFAS as they are owed for some academic years.”
NSFAS and institutions locked in billions of rand dispute
The resistance comes against the backdrop of a much larger financial dispute between NSFAS and higher education institutions.
NSFAS is estimated to owe universities and other higher education institutions approximately R10.4 billion in outstanding fees, according to an update previously provided to Parliament.
The competing claims have complicated efforts to recover money sitting in the old Celbux system.
The SIU said institutions had been instructed to repay portions of the credit balances owed to NSFAS while disputes involving missing students were being resolved.
Institutions that placed the money into interest-bearing accounts have also been advised to repay the outstanding balances together with the interest earned.
SIU uncovers wider NSFAS funding problems
The dormant Celbux balances form only part of the problems identified by the SIU.
Investigators have also found that more than 40,000 students across 76 higher education institutions were improperly funded, at an estimated cost of R5.1 billion.
The findings point to weaknesses in the administration and control of student funding, including problems involving allowance payments, institutional balances and eligibility controls.
The SIU said it had received 14 proclamations between 2017 and 2025 authorising investigations into matters within the higher education portfolio.
Of those investigations, eight have been completed, while six remain ongoing.
SIU questions NSFAS payment contracts
The investigative unit has also raised concerns about the procurement process used by NSFAS for its direct-payment system.
NSFAS awarded five-year contracts to four service providers — Coinvest Africa, Tenet Technology, Ezaga Holdings and Norraco Corporation — to administer direct student payments.
According to the SIU, NSFAS made the appointments contrary to its own prescripts and in breach of section 217(1) of the Constitution, which sets out principles governing public procurement.
The Western Cape High Court subsequently declared NSFAS’s decision to appoint the four service providers unconstitutional and invalid.
However, the court distinguished between flaws in the procurement process and the conduct of the service providers themselves. It found that the service providers were not complicit in maladministration, impropriety or corruption.
Students should not pay for NSFAS failures
The revelations have prompted concern from the South African Union of Students (SAUS).
SAUS spokesperson Dr Thato Masekoa said the findings pointed to systemic weaknesses rather than isolated accounting problems.
He highlighted the combination of R5.1 billion in improper funding, dormant student allowance accounts, institutional overpayments, accommodation-control weaknesses and procurement irregularities as evidence of broader governance problems.
But Masekoa stressed that accountability should not result in students being punished for failures within the funding system.
Students who received funding improperly because of weaknesses in NSFAS’s own systems and controls should not automatically be treated as responsible for those failures, he argued.
Billions need to be recovered and systems fixed
The SIU’s findings place renewed attention on how billions of rand intended for student support are being managed.
The immediate challenge is determining exactly how much of the R320 million in dormant Celbux balances remains recoverable, resolving disputes between NSFAS and institutions, and ensuring that legitimate student funding is protected.
The broader investigation also raises questions about whether NSFAS has adequate systems to verify beneficiaries, reconcile institutional accounts and prevent improper payments.
For students, however, the issue extends beyond recovering money.
As SAUS has argued, recovered funds should ultimately contribute to better controls, faster disbursements, stronger governance and a more reliable student funding system.
The SIU’s investigations into NSFAS and the wider higher education funding system remain ongoing.
