TAX authorities are helping to track down former students who owe billions on their NSFAS loans.
This means that once former students are employed and start paying tax, it’s harder for them to dodge repaying loans.
On Friday, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) issued a notice allowing its officials to hand over certain taxpayer information to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
This does not mean handing over their tax records, but allows Sars to hand over enough information to help the NSFAS trace them.
It includes the taxpayers’ names and tax numbers, "any identifying number", which would include an ID number, addresses and contact details, and their employers’ names and contact details.
The new rule is effective immediately.
It’s expected to provide much-needed help to the NSFAS, which has been struggling to collect from students once they have graduated or moved on.
“We believe that working with state agencies would make it easier for us to track down all defaulting debtors whose loans are due,” said NSFAS spokesperson Kagisho Mamabolo.
He said it would also be easier for the NSFAS to list those who didn’t pay as debt defaulters.
The students owe billions and while last year’s debts haven’t yet been totalled, “at the end of March 2015 the scheme recorded a loan book with a cumulative nominal value of R21.3bn and a fair value of R6.1bn”, said Mamabolo.
Students are expected to start repaying when they earn R30 000 a year.
The NSFAS is funded largely by the national government, through the Department of Higher Education and Training.
While it’s getting more money every year from the department, there has been less and less help every year from outside funders.
In the wake of the #FeesMustFall protests, the government’s contribution to the NSFAS was hugely hiked this year, going from R5.2bn in 2012/13 to R6.5bn in 2015/16, then jumping to R11.4bn for this year.