The bursary scheme covers many courses studied at these institutions, but it's important to remember that Nsfas will only fund your first qualification as it does not cover any postgraduate and advance qualifications.
Nsfas beneficiaries receive funding for tuition fees, registration fees, student accommodation, transport, meals, and other living allowances.
Students funded by the scheme will be funded throughout their qualification, as long as they achieve academic success and meet the requirements for continued funding.
In the instance where a student fails or drops out of the course, the scheme grants them an extra year of funding should they decide to re-do or continue with their qualification.
This can be seen as the N+ rule, which is the equation used for calculating the number of years a student would be allowed to be funded by the scheme.
The "N+" means students will have a window of one or two extra years to complete their qualifications.
Unlike the N+ Rule for University students, the N+ Rule for TVET colleges was only introduced for the first time during 2021 academic year.
According to Nsfas, the N+ Rule for TVET colleges is based on number of academic terms funded, given the shorter cycles that students are funded for and the higher probability that students may exit the system.
However, as of the 2022 academic year, the N+ Rule is no longer applied only at the exit point of the programme for TVET college students.
Here are the funding requirements for TVET college students:
- Must be a South African citizen
- Must be registered or intending to register on a PLP, NC(V) or Report 191 programme at a TVET college
- Must have a household income of R350 000 or below per year
- If you're a person living with a disability, your household income must come to R600 000 or less
- Returning students must demonstrate proven and accepted academic performance in line with the college’s progression policy or the progression prescriptions of the Bursary Rules and Guidelines
- Must not be enrolling for a qualification that duplicates previous learning that was state funded
Find out more about bursaries and funding on the Bursaries Portal.
