NSFAF leaves N$20.3 million in student repayments unallocated

Former students have repaid more than N$20.3 million to the Namibia Students Financial Assistant Fund (NSFAF), but by March 2025 the money had not been credited to their loan accounts because of a system change.

In the 2024/25 financial year, former NSFAF beneficiaries paid N$21.5 million back to the institution.

According to the auditor general’s report, repayments totalling N$20.3 million were held in a clearing account as at 31 March 2025, instead of being allocated to individual student loan accounts.

This comes after the institution in the past threatened former beneficiaries with blacklisting and court action if they fail to repay their loans.

Auditor general Junias Kandjeke says the problem came as a result of a moratorium on the Acumatica (AcuLoan) system migration.

AcuLoan is a specialised add-on that runs natively inside Acumatica to handle loan origins, the calculation of interest, repayments, and account servicing.

“This has resulted in delays in allocating repayments to individual student loan accounts,” Kandjeke says.

The auditor warns that the problem “affects interest calculations and loan balances”.

Management has told the auditors that reconciliations were being conducted outside the system.

However, when the auditors requested statements for a sample of student loan debtors, the NSFAF could not provide them.

“No supporting documentation or consolidated listing was provided for audit verification,” Kandjeke says.

The report also showed challenges in recovering student loans.

The fund recovered N$21.5 million during the 2024/25 financial year, representing less than 1% of total student debtors.

The auditors found that documentation did not sufficiently demonstrate that the NSFAF has an effective recovery plan.

The total amount owed to NSFAF is N$11.7 billion.

The auditors found that the fund had not measured the loan book at amortised (repaid) cost as required by International Public Sector Accounting Standard 41.

Expected credit losses on student loans amounted to N$5.34 billion as at 31 March 2025.

The auditors identify this as a key audit matter because of the significant uncertainty and judgement involved in estimating how much of the outstanding debt the fund may fail to recover.

Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) spokesperson Ndayola Mulongeni says the organisation’s stance has remained that the NSFAF should be more transparent. “It’s bad when students are not able to trust the institution and it’s sensitive because it involves money. Our stance remains accountability and transparency in terms of that NSFAF book,” he says. Nanso has repeatedly called on the government and the students fund to write off student debt and convert existing and future student loans into grants.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture says it is busy engaging the relevant directorates. “We are currently engaging the relevant directorates to verify the information and compile a comprehensive response to the issues raised in the audit report. We will provide you with an official response once the necessary consultations and verification have been completed,” deputy director of stakeholder relations and student support Chris Mwiya says.

Students Union of Namibia (SUN) president Natangwe Shikesho says the union finds it deeply concerning that there is N$20 million in student loan repayments the fund cannot adequately allocate to individual accounts.

He says this points to serious issues with financial accountability, institutional efficiency, and the management of public resources intended to support students.

“It is unacceptable that money repaid by former beneficiaries cannot be properly traced and accounted for, particularly at a time when thousands of Namibian students are struggling to finance their education. Every dollar recovered from a former beneficiary represents a potential opportunity to support another student and expand access to higher education,” he says.

Shikesho says such gaps in financial controls and accountability create the risk of corruption, abuse and exploitation.

He questions whether the N$20 million represents the full extent of the problem.

The post NSFAF leaves N$20.3 million in student repayments unallocated appeared first on The Namibian.