The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) confirmed that universities will be responsible for paying students their NSFAS allowances for the remainder of the 2024 academic year.
NSFAS provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving learners enrolled in approved courses at universities and TVET colleges. This includes money for tuition and registration fees as well as several allowances for food, accommodation and learning materials.
In 2023, NSFAS contracted four service providers to facilitate the payment of allowances to students. However, following an investigation into alleged corruption and subsequent legal action, these companies are no longer responsible for NSFAS allowance payments.
In April 2024, NSFAS confirmed that Universities will be responsible for the payment of NSFAS allowances to students until the end of July 2024. However, the government bursary scheme revealed that universities will continue to pay NSFAS allowances until the end of the year.
Following a meeting between Universities South Africa (USAF) and the NSFAS Administrator, Mr F Nomvalo, NSFAS has decided that university students' allowances will continue to be distributed through universities for the remainder of the 2024 academic year.
NSFAS will now allocate universities funds which will be used to continue to pay allowances to students.
This means NSFAS will disburse allowances to institutions, which will then distribute them to students, until the end of the 2024 academic year. The pilot accommodation process remains unchanged.
NSFAS confirmed that it will continue to disburse allowances and tuition fees to institutions based on valid student registration data. It is therefore essential for universities to ensure they provide accurate registration information to the bursary scheme to ensure no student is without allowance payments.
Institutions are urged to validate student data before disbursing allowances to ensure accuracy.
Progress On The New NSFAS Allowance Payment System
In May, NSFAS Administrator Freeman Nomvalo revealed that a new system for allowance payments will be fully developed by September 2024. It remains unclear whether this will remain the case after the scheme’s confirmation that universities will continue disbursing NSFAS allowances to students.
Further information regarding allowance distribution channels for the 2025 academic year will be communicated later.
Institution Last Chance To Submit Cancellations
NSFAS said institutions must submit cancellations for the 2024 academic year by 26 July 2024. These \submissions must be sent via email to: [email protected]
