NSFAS is a rather popular financial solution should you have trouble paying for your higher education fees. The NSFAS bursary covers so much more than just your tuition fees. The question does stand, do they provide students with laptop as well?
The NSFAS bursary includes the following:
- Tuition
- Registration fees
- Accommodation
- Transport
- Living allowance
- Learning materials allowance
- Incidental/personal care allowance
Due to the 2020 pandemic, NSFAS then made the decision to provide laptops to NSFAS funded students. These laptops are expected to start being delivered in March 2021.
Students who are set to receive the laptops are funded by NSFAS and will have their learning materials allowance used to get the laptop. This allowance usually sees the student receiving around R5000 to purchase devices, books and any other learning material needed.
Some students do use the learning materials allowance to purchase a laptop but previously, what the student did with the allowance was in their own hands.
The laptop will belong to the student and will be used for the duration of their qualification.
It was previously said that NSFAS would be supplying 730 000 students across the higher education sector with laptops. This is broken down into 430 000 students from Universities and 300 000 from TVET Colleges. NSFAS students who qualify for a laptop will be receiving a laptop, a charger and a laptop bag to carry the laptop.
As for whether the laptop a student will receive will be compatible with what they're studying, Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande said, "NSFAS is also engaging with individual institutions to assess laptop requirements for their NSFAS students, to ensure compatibility with the relevant qualifications".
It’s not clear whether students will be receiving laptops further than 2021 just yet.
