Every year, the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) assists with providing access to higher education in the form of bursaries. After the Fees Must Fall movement, ISFAP was introduced as a way to bridge the gap found in missing middle funding.
The "missing middle" refers to students who have a household income between R350 000 and R600 000. Missing middle students won't qualify for NSFAS funding but are unable to afford to pay their study fees without any assistance.
When it comes to choosing who gets approved for an ISFAP bursary, the financial aid programme is driven by occupation in high demand and scarce skills in South Africa.
"We have an issue, missing middle students feel left out, there's a gap there, we need as much support in there," Sifanele Biyela who is the Regional Programme Manager at ISFAP explains.
If you've applied for NSFAS and other bursaries, and were denied from NSFAS but approved for another bursary, you will not be eligible for ISFAP funding.
We're very, we are very strict about that. It's considered double-dipping and essentially you are absorbing an opportunity that would've covered two students and you are keeping it as your own.
"Considering what ISFAP covers, we feel that it is enough and you do not need to supplement it with something else so if you are found to be double-dipping, we withdraw immediately in terms of our funding so we have a very high no tolerance policy for double-dipping."
ISFAP Requirements
In order to qualify for an ISFAP bursary, you need to:
- Have a household income which falls between R0 and R600 000
- Meet academic criteria and registration, which vary per institution but will include:
- A National Benchmarking Test for some institutions (academic and behavioral strength)
- Matric results
- Funder constraints (that meet individual funder objectives) which will be applied to students applying
- Registered for courses at universities which fall under ISFAP's areas of study that they fund
What ISFAP Will Cover
Successful applicants will receive a funding package that includes tuition, accommodation and monthly allowances as well as wraparound support. Wraparound support includes things like mentorship, coaching, extra tutorials, academic support, financial support, accommodation support and even peer-to-peer learning.
Some examples of courses that ISFAP funds include; Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering bachelor degree, Electrical Engineering bachelor degree, Actuarial Science bachelor degrees, and many more.
