04/07/2025
SASCO Calls for the removal of Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane
By Omphulusa Tshishonga
Chairperson of the SASCO TUTRAND, S’manga Msweli has shared his thought on the call for the removal of the Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane. He mentioned that this reflects a growing frustration amongst and stakeholders in the Higher Education sector, pointing out that Minister Nkabane has failed the South African students dismally.
Msweli further mentioned that this is a symbol of a broader failure in leadership, especially on the NSFAS crisis, student accommodation, funding model delays, and TVET-college students being sidelined.
When students are being evicted, defunded, and silenced, we must hold leadership accountable, and saying the minister must go is a way of demanding political accountability and not personal hatred, says Msweli.
“Thousands of students, especially those from working-class and TVET sectors, have been evicted from residences due to delayed or cancelled NSFAS payments.
The uncertainty has caused serious stress. Students are struggling with anxiety, depression, and even academic failure due to financial instability.
Many can no longer afford to remain in university. This crisis is reversing the gains made in access to education for poor students.
Some students are being blocked by landlords and private residences despite the funding issue being administrative — this is unjust”, he said this while reflecting on how the defunding has affected students.
SASCO wants the Minister fired which they believe it will signal how serious the government is when it comes to taking accountability, even though this won’t fix the entire system, the minister’s removal would be a step in the right direction. Msweli says that they need structural reforms in NSFAS, student-centred funding model, and an accountable, depoliticized leadership that understands the lived realities of students.
He concluded by saying, “You cannot lead a sector you don’t respect, by that the Minister has declared that she does not care about students — we’re simply holding her to her own words. If she doesn’t care, then she must go. The future of students is not negotiable.”
