The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) provides fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor and working-class South African students.
The bursary scheme offers funding to students registered at any of the 26 public universities in South Africa, including Unisa.
To qualify for funding from the bursary scheme, prospective students must meet the following qualifying criteria:
- Be a South African citizen.
- Have a combined household income that is not more than R350 000 per annum.
- Person with disability: Combined household income must not be more than R600 000 per annum.
- SASSA grant recipients qualify for funding.
As it stands there are no set number of modules required to qualify for NSFAS funding, as long as students are registered for a full-time undergraduate course. This is because the financial provider only funds students for their first degree or qualification.
However, there are certain academic criteria that students need to meet in order to qualify for funding.
According to the NSFAS policy agreement, university students are expected to achieve a course credit pass rate of 50% as well meet all the academic requirements of their respective institutions in order to continue receiving financial aid throughout their studies.
Every student at Unisa has to pass a minimum of 36 credits (which is 3 modules) in their first year of study and then 48 credits (4 modules) in their second and further years of study to pass.
As Unisa is a distance learning institution, the NSFAS allowances students receive are different to other universities or TVET colleges.
NSFAS covers the following for Unisa students:
- Tuition fees
- Registration fees
- Learning material allowances
- Living allowances
For more detailed information on the tuition fees, applications and courses offered by each of these colleges, you can visit our Where To Study directory.
