A South African university has said it mistakenly wired 14m Rand ($1m; £774m) to a student’s personal bank account from a student financial aid scheme, EWN reports.
Walter Sisulu University said the money was deposited five months ago and only noticed the error when a receipt showing the student’s multi-million (rand) account balance was shared on social media:
#EWNChat Walter Sisulu University mistakenly deposited R14m of #NSFAS money into a student's account. What would you have done? pic.twitter.com/rlggmtg5y9
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 30, 2017
The university said that it was investigating why the student did not report the cash transfer, but the student disputes this, the report says.
EWN reports that other pictures have also surfaced online showing how the woman splurged on at least one party and luxury goods, including a mobile phone.
It is understood that she’s already spent nearly 400,000 Rand.
University spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo has said that the deposit was made in error by a company which administers National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and that the student will have to refund the money:
“We are also looking at the NSFAS rules, which the child did sign an agreement to adhere to… in terms of how that money should be used. So the student will be liable to repay every cent of the money spent even if it takes 20 years to do so.”
NSFAS has however denied the allegation, saying that the university is to blame:
#NSFAS did'nt pay R14 million to one student, it is practically impossible. WSU is responsible for paying students directly. It must account
— NSFAS (@myNSFAS) August 30, 2017
Another South African publication has been asking its readers how they would spend the money if they found themselves in a similar situation:
POLL #NSFAS a student from Walter Sisulu University has received a R14 million deposit. What would you do with the money?
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) August 30, 2017
