Minister for Higher Education, Buti Manamela, has told parliament that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme remains the single most important instrument enabling access to post-school education for students from poor and working-class households.
Reporting to parliamentarians on the state of readiness for the academic year in all areas of the higher education sector. Manamela announced that more than 764,000 applications for first-year funding were received by NSFAS in the last application period. Over 91% were approved.
"More than five hundred and sixty thousand continuing students met academic progression requirements to retain funding. Close to four billion rand has already been disbursed to institutions at the start of the academic year, with the bulk transferred to universities and a significant portion to TVET colleges".
"More than half a million NSFAS applicants come from households supported by social grants. This confirms the central redistributive role NSFAS plays in our democracy," explained the Minister.
"Importantly, NSFAS performance in 2026 has improved. First-time entering students knew their funding status before matric results were released, and continuing students knew their status before the end of the previous academic year. This has reduced anxiety for students and improved institutional planning and system stability".
"At the same time, more than three hundred thousand applicants did not qualify for funding. These include first-time entrants who were declined, students who did not meet academic progression requirements, and loan applicants who did not qualify".
"This is the second pressure point: funding demand exceeding the limits of the public purse. We must confront this reality honestly, without denying the problem and without abandoning our commitment to poor and working-class students," said Minister Manamela.
