Educated for leadership and engulfed by scandal, Minister Nkabane faces her sternest test

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

Calls have intensified for President Ramaphosa to dismiss Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, whose recent appointments and conduct have sparked widespread public and political outrage.
Nobuhle Nkabane, who was appointed as minister of higher education in July 2024, was once seen as an emerging leader with a seemingly impeccable record marked by extensive academic achievements and a steady rise in the public service. She was expected to bring renewed energy and reform to a critical portfolio.
However, less than a year into her tenure, that optimism has been overshadowed by controversy. Allegations of corruption, misleading Parliament and making politically loaded appointments to the boards of Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) have sparked public outrage and legal and parliamentary scrutiny.
Following the abrupt dismissal of Deputy Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Andrew Whitfield, the Democratic Alliance (DA) publicly called for the immediate removal of Nkabane.
We take a closer look at Nkabane and the path that led her to the influential role she holds today.
From rural roots to academic heights
Nkabane's academic journey began in KwaZulu-Natal, where she attended Ibisi Primary School in Umzimkhulu and matriculated at Task Force High School. In 2001, she earned a Diploma in Business Administration from Durban University of Technology, according to her LinkedIn profile.
From 2007 to 2009, she completed a Diploma in Youth Development at the University of South Africa (Unisa). From 2010 to 2014 she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities at Unisa, focusing on government, administration and development.
Her postgraduate studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal include a Bachelor of Administration, Honours (2015, cum laude), a Master of Administration in Public Administration (2016), and a PhD in Public Administration (2019). Alongside these, Nkabane completed several professional and executive programmes: a Compliance Management Programme at the University of Cape Town (2016–2017), Executive Development (NQF Level 7) at Stellenbosch Business School (2017), and participated in the African American European Summer School in Nancy, France.
She expanded her qualifications with a postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law from the University of the Western Cape (2020), and in March 2025 obtained a Master of Science in International Business Administration from SOAS University of London. Currently, she is studying for a Master of Management in Energy Leadership at Wits Business School.
Nkabane's ascent
Nkabane's early career included roles as a personal assistant at Umzimkhulu Local Municipality and as a youth coordinator at Sisonke District Municipality.
According to the South African Government website, her political journey began with leadership positions in the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and the ANC Women's League across branch, regional, and provincial levels in KwaZulu-Natal. As a leader in the ANCYL Sisonke Region, she played a key role in the successful campaign to rename Sisonke District Municipality to Harry Gwala District Municipality, honouring the anti-apartheid stalwart.
She was elected as a member of Parliament in 2019 and served on several portfolio committees, including Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Employment and Labour, and Sports, Arts and Culture. She was also a member of the committee that evaluated the Public Protector's fitness for office.
In 2022, she joined the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) and was appointed convenor of NEC deployees in Mpumalanga.
In August 2021, Ramaphosa appointed her deputy minister of mineral resources and energy, a role she held until June 2024. On 3 July 2024, she was sworn in as minister of higher education in the Government of National Unity.
Nkabane's promise to reform higher education
The Higher Education Ministry had been beset by systemic failures and public distrust. Nkabane promised a decisive shift in how the sector, particularly the troubled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), would be managed.
The scheme was placed under administration in April 2024 after serious mismanagement and failure to deliver student allowances.
In her maiden budget speech in Parliament on 16 July 2024, Nkabane pledged a full overhaul of the fund, promising to root out corruption. She also vowed to engage directly with student formations to better understand their daily struggles in accessing higher education.
Another item high on her agenda was the accommodation crisis plaguing students. In February, Nkabane said that after consulting with landlords and student representatives, she had found common ground and was inspired by the voices of students.
She also focused on the Setas, key to upskilling South Africa's youth. Her department allocated R333-million to support Seta programmes aiming to build a skilled and capable workforce to support inclusive growth.
Strategic appointments to rebuild trust
To steady the NSFAS ship, Nkabane appointed Waseem Carrim as its acting CEO, with a mandate to restore integrity and operational efficiency. She also reconstituted the NSFAS board. Carrim, a former National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) CEO, has since outlined ambitious plans to tackle governance failures and financial mismanagement at the agency.
Another key appointment was Asanda Luwaca, chairperson of the NYDA, who was appointed as chairperson of the National Skills Authority on 7 May. These moves reflected Nkabane's focus on appointing young, capable leaders to steer the sector towards reform.
Despite these bold commitments, many of the minister's promises have yet to materialise. Issues around student allowances, poor accommodation and delayed payments to landlords persist.
Student protests have continued at university and TVET college campuses over the NSFAS's failure to disburse funds timeously. There have been reports of squalid living conditions, overcrowding and exploitative rents. Landlords have claimed the NSFAS failed to pay them for months.
Earlier this year, more than 80 students at UCT lived in campus offices without proper facilities, while Wits students went on a hunger strike in protest at being excluded from registration because of historical debt.
The Seta scandal: A growing storm
However, the biggest crisis of her short tenure has stemmed from the Setas that she sought to empower.
Opposition parties and civil society slammed a leaked list of 21 Seta board chairpersons, exposed by Daily Maverick, for including politically connected figures like Buyambo Mantashe and former KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube. Critics accused Nkabane of nepotism, and in an open letter to Ramaphosa, DA MP Karabo Khakhau called for her dismissal.
Nkabane rescinded the appointments, but the political fallout was significant.
She established an independent panel to assist her in making appointments to the NSFAS and other entities.
The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education demanded the names of the panellists, and Nkabane revealed five names:
Advocate Terry Motau SC;
Asisipho Solani;
Nelisiwe Semane;
Rhulani Ngwenya; and
Mabuza Ngubane.
However, Motau denied ever chairing the independent panel, contradicting Nkabane's claims. Nkabane later apologised for naming him. The other panellists she listed have held departmental roles for more than six months, according to their LinkedIn profiles, raising doubts about the panel's independence.
On 30 June, the DA opened a criminal case against her for allegedly lying about the appointment process of ANC cadres to Seta boards, specifically disputing her claim that an independent panel chaired by Motau oversaw the appointments — a claim Motau denied.
The following day, 1 July, the DA — a member of the coalition government — publicly opposed the Department of Higher Education and Training's budget vote in the National Council of Provinces, calling for Nkabane's removal due to the allegations against her.
Throughout early July, the DA and opposition parties continued to reject her budget proposals amid ongoing concerns about corruption and trustworthiness, while Nkabane defended the department's R142-billion budget.
She is expected to appear before the higher education portfolio committee, alongside her panel and deputy ministers Buti Manamela and Mimmy Gondwe, to answer allegations of misleading Parliament.
On 23 June, TimesLIVE reported that the chair of the higher education portfolio committee, Tebogo Letsie, suggested that Nkabane might have breached section 17 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities Act, which criminalises knowingly giving false information to Parliament, further intensifying calls for her accountability.
Sasco president Alungile Kamtshe, who was at the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters on Sunday to address the state of the department, NSFAS and the Setas, said Nkabane had to be removed as minister. He said the issues faced by students were a result of Nkabane not delivering services to them.
Daily Maverick sent questions to Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya on whether Ramaphosa had met with Nkabane to chart a way forward. No response had been received by the time of publication. However, the secretary-general of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula, said during a press briefing that Nkabane had had no intention of misleading Parliament over the Seta appointment process and the naming of Motau.
'We reject the Democratic Alliance's opportunistic laying of criminal charges against the minister,' said Mbalula.
'The DA's conduct is not grounded in legal principle but in performative politics… The minister has decided to restart the process afresh, in full compliance with legal provisions, and without the influence of the prior panel. We invite broader sectoral participation, including business, labour, and student organisations, in the spirit of cooperative governance, a process we fully support as the African National Congress.'
For a minister who came in with promises to listen, clean up and restore dignity to the education sector, Nkabane now finds herself on the defensive. With her credibility under scrutiny, and trust from students, MPs and the public in question, her future as higher education minister hangs in the balance. DM