State-funded students who have not paid back billions in student loans should expect debt collectors at their doors. But even if they don't pay a cent back to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), they don't risk being blacklisted.The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has identified about half a million scheme beneficiaries who are employed and earning enough to start servicing their debt.But they are yet to pay back R6-billion of the total R21-billion outstanding debt to the scheme - some of which dates back 17 years.The remainder of the debt is with students who dropped out, are unemployed or are still studying.In the past financial year the aid scheme was able to recover only R248-million."We can't blacklist students as many of them come from poor households. All we can do is go to debt collectors and use the law in our favour by approaching the courts," said NSFAS spokesman Kagisho Mamabolo."We follow debt-collection criteria. If students are working we request students to pay and allow them to indicate how much they are able to afford," Mamabolo said.The scheme's general manager for loans and bursaries, Jomo Jacobs, yesterday said the huge amount of money outstanding would go a long way in assisting other deserving students to get higher education.The financial aid scheme relies on an agreement between the scheme and the students using the National Debt Collection Act to recover the debt but stops short of blacklisting non-paying debtors.Beneficiaries are required to start repaying their debt once they start earning R30000 a year.Debtors are required to pay 3% of their annual salary towards the debt. Economist Mike Schussler said students funded by NSFAS had an obligation to society to pay back the money as taxpayers were bearing the brunt."By not repaying loans they are asking taxpayers, some of whom have not had the privilege of obtaining higher education, to replenish the money. The culture of nonpayment has gone too far."The R21-billion is the equivalent of food imports for the next year, considering the drought," said Schussler.Schussler said Sars should be given the task of collecting the student debt.Jacobs said there are young people who need financial aid but can't get it because there is not enough money."The money is with the beneficiaries (but they) are not supporting the next generation. We would help many other students should we get the money," he said.The sum of R21-billion would at current university rates pay the fees of a million students."Students are saying that by the time they start working they are already in debt but the amount paid back to us is not the full amount the beneficiaries received," said Jacobs.Chairman of the Higher Education Transformation Network Lucky Thekisho said the lack of loan recoveries from students who are able to pay affects students who are trying to get higher education."There needs to be stringent criteria put in place that will help identify those who are employed but are unable to pay back the loans."Higher Education minister Blade Nzimande announced that the NSFAS budget will increase from R9.5bn to R10bn for the 2016-17 financial year.An additional R4.5bn has been allocated to the scheme.Of the amount, R700m has been allocated for full bursaries in scarce and critical skills...