NSFAS Allowances Explained
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. The funding not only includes money for tuition and registration fees but also includes several NSFAS allowances for food, accommodation, transport and learning materials.
However, all NSFAS-funded students won't qualify for a transport allowance.
Who qualifies for a NSFAS transport allowance?
Students can only receive one allowance – either for accommodation or travel, depending on your living situation.
The NSFAS allowance for transport helps eligible students with the cost of transport from the place they are living in to their university or a TVET college.
Students who are living at home or living with a relative which is 10km or more away from the campus will qualify for a transport allowance which will be paid every month.
NSFAS has explained:
Where students reside 10 km away from campus, such students qualify for the actual transport allowance, the allowance will be paid directly to the student where the institution has not made travel arrangements on behalf of their students.
Should the institution have made travel arrangements for students that live 10 km away from the campus, the travel allowance will then be paid to the institution.
These students won't qualify for an accommodation allowance. Students who receive accommodation allowances will therefore not qualify for a transport allowance.
NSFAS Requirements
All students applying for NSFAS must meet the specific requirements for a NSFAS bursary or a NSFAS missing middle student loan.
These eligibility criteria include being a South African citizen, studying towards an approved qualification and meeting the NSFAS household income threshold of R350,000 for able-bodied students and R600,000 for students living with disabilities.
You also have to be a South African citizen. NSFAS funding is also based on maintaining a good academic record.
NSFAS plays a critical role in ensuring students from poor and working-class backgrounds can further their education without having to worry about the costs.
