At the beginning of the 2023 academic year, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) committed to making upfront payments to allow students to register on time.
NSFAS confirmed that these payments were made to both public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges on 31 January 2023.
This was followed by another upfront payment that was made to universities on 6 March 2023, and this payment was made to institutions that were still in the stages of finalising allowance allocations and claims for the registration data.
When it comes to the government bursary scheme making payments for student allowances in Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges, two payment runs have already been made based on the registration data received from the colleges.
Although some students had no user profiles, payments were made to them by 18 March 2023 and NSFAS has since committed to making payments weekly.
In a statement, the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) Deputy Minister Buti Manamela explained:
The majority of students who were not paid were as a result of institutions submitting registration data after the deadline.
However, the department has confirmed that up to 800,000 students have been paid upfront from 31 January to 6 March 2023.
For the 2023 academic year, the NSFAS students' living allowance have been increased by 10% and this comes after there haven’t been any increase in allowances in the past three years.
The Scheme has shared that this move does not only acknowledge the impact of inflation on students' livelihoods, but also looks to remove the burden of disadvantaged students.
“Every week, NSFAS would make payment tranches to ensure that whatever funding decisions are taken, students do not wait until the end of the month for allowances,” said Manamela. According to DHET, these weekly payments will be made four times a month.
Although NSFAS student allowances have been increased as of 2023, the NSFAS student accommodation cap remains at R45,000 per month.
