Parliament’s Higher Education Portfolio Committee has backed Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka’s call for universities and TVET colleges to stop withholding graduates’ university certificates over unpaid student debt.
The intervention comes as a separate Public Protector report flags irregularities in the R5.1 billion paid to 40 000 students, adding to scrutiny of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
DHET data cited in the parliamentary review puts the figure at roughly 165 000 university qualifications and 20 000 TVET certificates being withheld over outstanding fees.
A separate count by Universities South Africa (USAf) puts the number of university graduation credentials withheld at 188,209, reflecting a different dataset and reporting period.
Without a certificate or transcript, graduates can struggle to secure formal employment. That leaves them without the income they need to settle their student debt.
Withheld certificates are not recovering student debt
Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie told Newzroom Afrika that Parliament had engaged universities and other institutions over the practice of withholding graduates’ certificates over unpaid fees.
“We have engaged with universities and concerned institutions and indicated to them that this strategy of recouping money through the holding of certificates, it’s not working at all,” Letsie said.
He said the rising levels of student debt and withheld certificates showed that the approach was failing.
“If it was working, you’d not have debt accumulating every year, you’d not have certificates that [are] withheld increasing every year.”
Letsie acknowledged the argument from universities, which release certificates at graduation “because they do understand that if that doesn’t happen then the system is going to collapse”.
But Parliament disagrees with using withheld university certificates as a debt-recovery tool, he said.
Letsie pointed to job adverts that require applicants to provide their certificates upfront. Without the documents, graduates can be told to “consider your application unsuccessful”, effectively locking them out of the employment they need to repay their student debt.
He confirmed that Parliament is drafting a proposal for a formal agreement involving National Treasury, through SARS, the Department of Higher Education and universities.
Under the proposed arrangement, certificates would be released alongside “a system that would notify the universities as soon as these graduates find employment”.
This would allow institutions to recover outstanding student debt from an income stream, rather than withholding the qualifications graduates need to find work.
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NSFAS failures deepen the certificate crisis
Gcaleka’s notice cited “prima facie evidence of probable systemic maladministration” at NSFAS.
The Public Protector found that the scheme could not resolve 80% of queries logged through its contact centre.
Its Close-Out Project, which has been reconciling student accounts since 2021, also remains unfinished five years later.
The unresolved accounts have contributed directly to disputes over student debt and withheld certificates.
Governance problems have also hit the funding scheme.
NSFAS has been placed under administration three times in eight years. A Gauteng High Court ruling this month ordered Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela to reinstate the NSFAS board and suspend administrator Hlengani Mathebula.
The scheme has since approved close to one million students for 2026 funding, raising further questions about whether its administrative capacity can keep pace with demand.
Governance problems have also hit the funding scheme.
NSFAS has been placed under administration three times in eight years. A Gauteng High Court ruling this month ordered Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela to reinstate the NSFAS board and suspend administrator Hlengani Mathebula.
OUTA has questioned Mathebula’s appointment, citing his prior suspension from SARS over governance failures.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office says he is “deeply concerned” and is awaiting a full briefing from Manamela.
What happens next for withheld certificates?
Vice-chancellors and the Higher Education Ministry must overhaul debt-recovery models within 90 days of the final report.
Universities and colleges also have 30 days to audit withheld certificates, including by demographic and outstanding debt amount.
NSFAS, the Department of Higher Education and Training and universities have 60 days to respond to Gcaleka’s notice before she finalises her findings.
For Parliament, the central question is now whether withholding university certificates actually recovers student debt — or simply prevents graduates from earning the income they need to pay it.
Ralated: NSFAS sat on R4.4 billion surplus while students struggled with debt
