South Africa’s Higher Education Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande has dismissed calls for the scrapping of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and rather distribute funds directly to higher institutions of learning.

Nzimande was speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday after the Student Forum 4 Service Delivery marched to the department to hand over a memorandum of demands.

The Student Forum 4 Service Delivery is calling for NSFAS to be discarded and for funds to be transferred directly to universities.

NSFAS has been rocked by a series of scandals including leadership instability and the irregular awarding of four fintech companies to disburse student allowances. However, Nzimande says the NSFAS will not be scrapped.