Money should not be a barrier to accessing further education. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) therefore has the task of providing access to higher education through NSFAS bursaries and NSFAS loans.
Every year, more than a million students apply for NSFAS funding with thousands and thousands eventually being approved. However, there is a possibility of this NSFAS funding being withdrawn.
In this article, we look at some of the reasons why NSFAS could withdraw funding.
According to the NSFAS Eligibility Criteria and Conditions for Financial Aid, "NSFAS reserves the right to withdraw or cease financial aid to a student".
Why NSFAS Could Withdraw Funding
- Your academic or financial situation has changed
- This could be due to falling below academic progress requirements, or your household income exceeding the eligibility threshold.
- Fraud or misrepresentation
- NSFAS funding could be withdrawn if NSFAS discovers you've intentionally misled them or another student regarding financial aid.
- Funding error
- There may have been a mistake in processing your NSFAS application, resulting in you receiving funding you weren't eligible for.
- Institution error
- The institution you attend may have unintentionally provided incorrect information that led to your funding.
- You provided incorrect information
- This could be accidental or on purpose, but it can still result in losing your funding and you should therefore ensure you only submit accurate information when applying.
- Double registration
- If you're registered at two different institutions at the same time and haven't resolved this with NSFAS, your funding could be cut.
- Previous Qualifications
- NSFAS may withdraw funding if they discover you already hold an undergraduate qualification they weren't aware of during your application.
What to do if your NSFAS funding is withdrawn
Should your NSFAS funding be withdrawn and the reason behind it be valid, you unfortunately cannot do anything about it. However, NSFAS does give students an opportunity to appeal a decision to withdraw funding before it's finalized, should their NSFAS funding have been withdrawn unfairly.
Appeals must be submitted within the timeframe specified by NSFAS, which is usually 30 days after a rejection notice was given.
NSFAS Appeal Process
- Log into your “MyNSFAS" account on www.nsfas.org.za
- Click the 'Track Funding Progress' option
- Check the application progress tabs
- If your application status reflects an unsuccessful message, you may submit an appeal by clicking on the 'Submit Appeal Tab'
- Once you are on the 'Application Appeal' page, you can see the reason for your unsuccessful application status
- You are then able to choose the appeal reason
- Then upload certified supporting documents to support your reason
- Then click 'Submit Appeal'
- You may now track the progress of the appeal on your myNSFAS account.
Submit your appeal only through the official channels designated by NSFAS. Using an unauthorized channel will result in your appeal being missed.
