As of early August 2023, a total of 53 206 appeals have been approved by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for the academic year, while a total 6 107 have been rejected for having not met the appeal requirements. NSFAS Board Chairperson, Ernest Khosa, shared that there are still about 27 791 appeals that have not received an outcome yet, due to NSFAS awaiting supporting documents from applicants.
NSFAS Appeals
NSFAS has strict criteria that students are to meet before they are approved for funding. Students who are applying need to be able to prove that their entire household income is under R350 000 and that they meet the academic requirements, among other things.
However, in some cases, students who were initially rejected for NSFAS funding are able to submit an appeal if:
- An applicant did not meet the financial criteria initially, but since their first application have had their financial circumstances change enough to have met the criteria.
- An applicant failed to meet the academic criteria due to circumstances such as death in the family, health emergencies, being subject to violent crime, giving birth during the academic year, or as a result of a disability.
Supporting documents for a NSFAS appeal might include; a Medical certificate, a Death certificate of an immediate family member, applicant’s Academic transcript, and Payslips or more, depending on the circumstances of the application rejection.
For more complex cases, there is an Independent Appeals Tribunal featuring members from the higher education and training sector, officials from tertiary institutions, and student leadership.
These cases might involve variations in the N+ rule, which allows students to receive funding for the total length of their degree and an additional one or two years if they take longer to finish their degree. Typically, exceeding this rule would warrant the ceasing of funding, but if the student in question only has one or two modules to complete rather than a full course load, the Tribunal can decide to grant the student’s appeal.
Student Accommodation Developments
Along with these funding developments, Khosa acknowledged that accommodation for NSFAS students is still inadequate, noting the lack of beds as well as the inconsistent accreditation processes for accommodation properties.
Developments in this matter have included the creation of an online student accommodation portal that allows accommodation providers to register their properties, after which 38 appointed accreditors will grade these properties online and declare their fitness for student living. Students will also get the chance to apply for accommodation via the portal.
With regards to the bed shortage, Khosa also noted that a total of 41 245 beds have been registered, while 24 784 of them have already been accredited to accommodate students.
NSFAS Accommodation Cap Under Review
The R45 000 accommodation cap that received mixed reviews when it was first announced, has also seen some developments. According to Khosa, NSFAS has asked institutions that are badly affected by the cap to negotiate with private accommodation providers to adjust their fees to accommodate the cap.
This cap is also currently under review by a task team led by the Department of Higher Education.
