The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary is a lifeline for many South African students, providing financial support to pursue higher education. NSFAS funding not only covers tuition and registration fees but includes various NSFAS allowances as well.
NSFAS funds students studying at one of the 50 public TVET Colleges or 26 public universities. One of the institutions included is the University of South Africa (Unisa) but NSFAS funding works differently at Unisa compared to other universities.
NSFAS Allowances For Unisa Students
Unisa students who have NSFAS funding only receive NSFAS allowances for Learning Materials.
Learning Material Allowance is calculated based on the number of modules registered. Unisa students will then receive R700 per module for the first four modules and an R5 460 once-off amount for five or more modules.
This then means that should the amount of R5200 Learning Materials Allowance be paid for the first five modules, no additional Learning Materials Allowance will be paid for additional modules.
Unisa has also said that students registered for ten or more modules qualify for a personal care/incidental allowance of R304.50 per month for 10 months. The incidental allowance spans from February to November each year; incidental allowance helps cover student expenses during these months.
How Much NSFAS Allowances For Unisa Students Are For August
- Personal care/incidental allowance: R304.50
- Only students studying an equivalent full-time course credit load qualify for the personal care allowance
The Learning material allowance is paid once off at the beginning of the year.
How NSFAS Allowances Will Be Paid
The new NSFAS allowance payment arrangements for both university and TVET college students replace the previous NSFAS Direct payment method, making the NSFAS Direct Payment Black Card obsolete. NSFAS has confirmed the termination of contracts with the service providers.
NSFAS confirmed that universities will continue to disburse NSFAS allowances until the end of the year. Initially, in April 2024, the government bursary scheme indicated that universities would be responsible for allowance payments until the end of July 2024.
However, a recent update clarified that universities, including Unisa, will extend these NSFAS allowance payments through the end of the year.
