23 554 learners registered more than once: what the Auditor-General found

In its PFMA audit outcomes for 2022-23, tabled on 29 November 2023, the Auditor-General of South Africa looked at learner data held by the skills funding bodies in the higher education and training portfolio. Under the heading of leakages, it reported 23 554 learners registered with more than one of them; its own label was "learners in multiple SETAs".

It was one of several findings. The same slide listed 8 569 learners reported in multiple years, 2 935 learners with ID numbers not on the Home Affairs register, 1 904 learners funded twice through NSFAS, 907 learners older than 65, 172 deceased learners and 115 learners funded twice through Funza Lushaka.

Why it matters to an employer

Learnerships carry real money. The skills development levy is 1% of payroll for employers above R500 000 a year. Learnership spend counts towards the skills development element of the B-BBEE scorecard, a priority element with a 40% sub-minimum. Registered learnership agreements can qualify for the 12H allowance. And unemployed learners on a learnership often earn a stipend paid by the employer.

All of that rests on a simple fact: that each learner is a real person, enrolled once, attending and paid. When learner records cannot show that, the spend is exposed: in a funder monitoring visit, in a B-BBEE verification, and in a conversation with the board.

What the Auditor-General recommended

In later briefings to Parliament, in February 2025 and again in October 2025, the AGSA said the skills funding bodies were operating in silos and recommended an integrated system holding learner data across all of them, extended to national systems such as the Home Affairs population register. The Department of Higher Education and Training has said it is building integration across its learner systems. That is the right fix, and it sits with the state.

What a careful employer checks in the meantime

• Each learner's ID number is valid and matches the person who signs the agreement.
• The learner is not already registered on another learnership for the same period.
• Attendance and workplace records exist for the months the stipend was paid.
• Stipends were paid into the learner's own account, and the payments reconcile to the agreement.
• The provider is accredited for the programme: QCTO-accredited for new occupational qualifications.

A possible duplicate is a flag to check, never a finding of fraud. There are innocent reasons for overlaps, and an employer should resolve a flag with the provider and the funder before drawing conclusions.

Sources

• Auditor-General of South Africa, PFMA 2022-23 national and provincial audit outcomes, tabling presentation, 29 November 2023 (higher education and training portfolio).
• Parliamentary Monitoring Group, AGSA briefing, 4 February 2025.
• Parliamentary Monitoring Group, AGSA at the Higher Education portfolio committee, 15 October 2025.

No client of ours is referred to in these findings. General guidance, not legal or tax advice.