The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has refuted false claims circulating on social media that its 2025 registration portal has been closed due to budget constraints and that no registration templates will be accepted.
NSFAS labelled the message as misleading and urged the public to disregard it entirely.
“This statement is entirely misleading and constitutes a gross misrepresentation of NSFAS's official position and operational status. NSFAS strongly repudiates this inaccurate communication.”
NSFAS specifically called on the Durban University of Technology (DUT) to correct the misinformation if the statement originated from the institution. The scheme criticised the spread of false claims, saying such actions aim to mislead students and stakeholders and harm the organisation’s reputation.
NSFAS Clarifies Portal Status
In March 2025, NSFAS issued a circular to all universities confirming that the registration portal remained open to receive valid registration data.
Although the official cut-off date was 31 March 2025, universities were encouraged to submit data by 15 March to allow sufficient time for processing and to ensure timely payments to students.
This earlier submission was recommended to ensure timely processing and subsequent disbursement of funds by the end of March 2025.
However, some universities, including DUT, missed the mid-month deadline. This resulted in delays in processing tuition and NSFAS allowances for students at those institutions.
NSFAS Allowances Disbursed
NSFAS confirmed that student allowance payments were successfully released to affected institutions on 6 May 2025. Tuition fee payments are expected to follow soon.
NSFAS can confirm that on the 6th of May 2025, the Scheme successfully released student allowance payments to the affected universities. The disbursement of tuition fees will follow in due course.
Ongoing Commitment to Student Support
The NSFAS scheme reaffirmed its commitment to delivering financial aid efficiently and on time. Institutions have been reminded to meet data submission deadlines to avoid unnecessary delays.
NSFAS remains committed to ensuring that eligible students receive their funding in a timely and efficient manner and urges all institutions to comply with the stipulated data submission deadlines.
