Over the years, the number of students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) has grown exponentially.
If you are a Nsfas-funded student, but are not too sure whether you are required to reapply for funding for the next academic year, here's all you need to know.
In an information session, a Nsfas official explained that students will need to meet any of the following conditions to be able to reapply for funding:
- A student completing a certificate qualification, and needing to reapply for undergraduate funding
- A student completing their studies at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College, moving to a university in the next academic year and vice versa.
- A student that de-registered or dropped out during an academic term, and wish to resume their studies in future academic terms, must re-apply.
if you don't fall under these cases and you have already applied, you don't need to apply again.
This government bursary scheme caters to students qualifying students who are either currently studying or intend to study at a public university or TVET College.
According to Nsfas, the bursary covers essential costs such as tuition, registration costs and provides students with various allowances, namely transport, living expenses and learning materials.
To qualify for the government bursary, students ought to meet the following criteria:
- Must be a South African citizen.
- Can be a SASSA grant recipient.
- Applicants whose combined household income is not more than R350 000 per annum.
- Persons with a disability whose combined household income is not more than R600 000 per annum.
- Applicants who first registered at university before 2018 whose household income is not more than R122 000 per annum.
Students may visit the NYDA application centres around the country to receive assistance from officials regarding their online funding application.
