The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has experienced a significant of in applications, with a total of 1 936 330 applications received by 16 February 2024. After noting the high volume of applications, the closing date for applications was extended to 15 February 2024.
NSFAS revealed that 1 000 389 applicants have already been provisionally funded for the 2024 academic year. The quick funding decisions for these applicants were largely attributed to NSFAS’ agreement with the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
The agreement is that NSFAS collaborates with Sassa to check if the bursary or loan applicant appears on the Sassa grant database. If an applicant appears on the grant database, they are automatically provisionally funded as they meet NSFAS’ household eligibility criteria of R350,000 per annum.
Of all applications received by NSFAS, funding was allocated to more than 790 000 individuals relying on Sassa assistance and close to 200 000 applicants sourcing funding from alternative sources.
NSFAS institution Applications
As of 12 February, NSFAS received 570,358 funding applications for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college studies and more than 1.3 Million applications for university funding. This demonstrates the significant demand for both pathways.
Within these sectors, NSFAS has provisionally funded 230,394 TVET applicants and 759,604 university applicants. Students only begin benefiting from NSFAS if their registration is confirmed by the institution they are enrolled at.
NSFAS SARS Consent Form
In 2024, NSFAS called on all applicants to submit a consent form to finalise their 2024 NSFAS bursary application. Failure to submit a consent form may delay confirmation of funding by NSFAS.
This consent form allows NSFAS to verify that applicants fall within the household income threshold for funding in 2024.
NSFAS says it is committed to transparency and efficiency in communicating funding decisions to applicants. Decisions are communicated as applications are processed, with additional resources allocated to expedite the process.
The financial aid scheme has deployed 100 case workers with the aim of processing all applications by the end of February 2024 and resolving any appeals by April 2024.
NSFAS has made the budget available for additional resources (100 case workers) to ensure that all applications are processed by no later than the end of February and further processes all 2024 appeals received by no later than the end of April 2024.
This article was updated on 19 February 2024.
