The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving learners enrolled in approved courses at universities and TVET colleges. This financial aid includes tuition and registration fees as well as allowances for essential expenses.
NSFAS allowances ensure students can cover essential costs while they pursue their tertiary education qualification.
The government bursary scheme confirmed that universities will continue to disburse allowances until the end of the year.
NSFAS Allowances In January
NSFAS allowances are divided into 10 payments every year. This means that in January 2025, students will not receive any allowance.
December and January are different to every month due to NSFAS not paying allowances during this month. NSFAS only pays allowances for 10 months every year, during the academic year.
The academic year commences in February and ends in November for most institutions which means that NSFAS pays allowances from February until November only.
What Unisa Students Receive from NSFAS
Unisa students funded through NSFAS are eligible for the Learning Materials Allowance and the Living Allowance.
The Learning Materials Allowance is determined by the number of modules a student is registered for. Unisa students funded by NSFAS receive R700 per module for the first four modules and a one-time payment of R5,460 for five or more modules.
If R5,200 is already paid as the Learning Materials Allowance for the first five modules, no additional allowance will be granted for any extra modules. This allowance must be used to purchase textbooks and other study materials required to complete their courses.
Living Allowances are disbursed to students who have registered for ten or more modules. Furthermore, Unisa specifies that students registered for ten or more modules qualify for an incidental allowance.
In addition to these allowances, NSFAS covers both tuition fees and registration fees.
