The University of South Africa (Unisa) confirmed that more than 92,000 students have received their monthly allowance payments from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). Despite this, thousands of students enrolled at the university are awaiting their March 2025 NSFAS allowance payments.
Unisa explained that the remaining 78,000 NSFAS-funded students will receive their allowance payments by the end of March 2025. These payments are dependent on several factors.
Last week, approximately 92 000 students received payments from Unisa. A second group, comprising about 78 000 students, will receive payments by 31 March.
The university added that students who have not yet received their NSFAS allowance payments will receive communication from the university to address issues preventing payments.
Unisa will communicate directly with the remaining students to resolve any outstanding matters.
Unisa confirmed that students will start receiving their NSFAS allowance payments for April 2025 from 29 April.
From April 2025, qualifying students will receive payments on the 29th of every month.
How Unisa NSFAS Allowances Will Be Paid
Unisa will distribute allowance payments to all NSFAS-funded students for the first six months of 2025.
Distance learning students receive NSFAS allowances based on their specific needs.
- Students studying fewer than 60 course credits towards their qualification qualify only for the learning materials allowance.
- Students enrolled in a full-time equivalent course credit load qualify for both the learning materials allowance and the personal care allowance per academic yea
Allowances for students in distance education programmes are calculated based on the number of courses registered.
NSFAS-funded Unisastudents will only receive a learning materials allowance, which is used to purchase educational resources, and an incidental allowance, which provides financial support for living expenses.
The NSFAS incidental allowance is only paid to Unisa students registered for 10 modules.
How Unisa NSFAS Allowance Payments Will Be Made
Unisa has confirmed that NSFAS allowances will be disbursed via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) directly into students’ bank accounts. This is the standard payment method for all university students receiving NSFAS funding.
NSFAS allowances are paid by the institution via EFT into the student’s bank account.
How To Capture Bank Details for NSFAS Allowance Payments
- Access the platform using the link sent to your myLife e-mail account.
- Enter your banking information.
- Await the completion of the verification process by the bank.
Unisa reminded students that allowances must be paid into bank accounts registered in their name. This is because the bank account details will be verified against the student’s Unisa ID number.
No third-party banking details will be accepted.
Unisa urged students to monitor their bank verification status to prevent delays in allowance payments.
We urge you to actively monitor the status of your submission. This will reduce delays in the disbursement of allowances, which may occur due to failed banking detail verifications.
It is important to note that NSFAS does not cover historical debt.
