The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has announced how allowances will work for students in December 2024. NSFAS provides bursaries and loans to eligible students studying at public universities and TVET colleges in South Africa.
These cover tuition, registration fees, and allowances for food, accommodation, and study materials.
NSFAS provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving learners. These bursaries cover tuition and registration fees, as well as several allowances for food, accommodation, and learning materials.
This financial aid is only provided to students enrolled in approved courses at public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in South Africa.
NSFAS allowances are divided into 10 payments every year. This means that in December 2024, students will not receive any allowance.
December is different to every month due to NSFAS not paying allowances during this month. NSFAS only pays allowances for 10 months every year, during the academic year.
The academic year commences in February and ends in November for most institutions which means that NSFAS pays allowances from February until November.
Universities to Continue Disbursing Allowances
Following a meeting between Universities South Africa (USAF) and the NSFAS Administrator, it has been decided that universities will continue to pay NSFAS allowances to students until the end of the 2024 academic year.
This extends the arrangement implemented in April 2024.
New Payment System Under Development
While a new system for disbursing allowances is being developed, universities will remain the primary channel for payments in 2024. Further information regarding allowance distribution channels for the 2025 academic year will be provided at a later date.
End of NSFAS Direct Payment
The NSFAS Direct payment method, which involved a black card, has been discontinued. This is a result of changes in allowance disbursement arrangements and the termination of related service provider contracts.
This article was updated on 25 November 2024.
