The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) helps students from underprivileged backgrounds afford their studies.
NSFAS provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving learners enrolled in approved courses at universities and TVET colleges. This funding not only includes money for tuition and registration fees but also includes several allowances for food, accommodation and learning materials.
Students living with relatives, but not in private accommodation, qualify for a transport allowance instead of an accommodation allowance.
This allowance recognises the financial burden of commuting to and from campus and ensures students can attend classes regularly.
The distance between your residence and campus plays a role in how you receive your transport allowance.
Here’s How The NSFAS Transport Allowance Works
- Living 10km or further from campus (without institutional transport): In this case, NSFAS understands you'll need to manage your own travel expenses. To support this, they'll pay the allowance directly to you.
- Living 10km or further from campus (with institutional transport): If your institution arranges transport for students living nearby, the allowance is paid directly to the institution. This ensures the institution can cover the costs of providing that transportation.
Who Qualifies for NSFAS Funding?
To qualify for NSFAS funding, the most important eligibility criteria is a combined gross household income of R350,000 or less annually for a bursary, and R600,000 or less for a loan.
If the total household income exceeds these thresholds, the student does not qualify for NSFAS support. Additionally, NSFAS funding is exclusively available to South African citizens.
Students must also be enrolled in an approved course at a public university or TVET college.
