The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) provides bursaries to qualifying South African students studying at public tertiary institutions. This includes students enrolled in academic programmes at public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
The main eligibility criteria for the NSFAS bursary regards the student’s household income, as the scheme is only meant to assist students from poor and working-class backgrounds.
To qualify for a NSFAS bursary, a student must have a household income not exceeding R350,000 for able-bodied students and R600,000 for students with disabilities. If a student comes from a household exceeding these amounts, their NSFAS bursary application will be rejected.
It was recently revealed that some students misrepresent their household income to pass the means test. Once they pass the means test and meet all the other NSFAS eligibility criteria, they are approved for funding.
The Department of Higher Education and Training's (DHET) Dr Nkosinathi Sishi says a task team has been established to assist NSFAS in ensuring that students are not able to cheat the means test and receive funding meant to assist students with a financial need.
Sishi believed that several areas must be confronted to ensure that gaps in funding are addressed by the DHET. This includes the underfunding of students who have been awarded a NSFAS bursary, the missing middle students, and class issues.
They acknowledge that the amount of NSFAS funding available to students falls far short of the demands, explaining that there are significant gaps between funding provided by NSFAS and the full cost of studying the student may incur.
Underfunding can also overburden universities. This burden is increased on previously disadvantaged institutions.
This underfunding contributes to dropouts and this is what we need to look into.
Many students come from homes that cannot afford the costs of studying at a tertiary education institution. However, their income falls above the household income threshold of R350,000 which makes them ineligible for funding. They are known as missing middle students.
Work is currently being done to develop a Comprehensive Student Funding model by the DHET which aims to assist more students access education. This includes a loan element for missing middle students.
NSFAS only awards bursaries to students enrolled in approved academic programmes at a public university or TVET college. They do not provide funding to students enrolled at private colleges.
If students are awarded a NSFAS bursary, their tuition and registration fees will be paid. They will also receive an accommodation allowance, a learning material allowance, and a living allowance.
