The National Student Financial Aid Scheme provides funding to disadvantaged students studying at higher education institutions. Students must meet specific requirements in order to be funded by the bursary scheme.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a bursary scheme which administers funding on behalf of the government to students who are in need of financial support.
They provide funding for registration and tuition as well as allowances for learning materials, accommodation, transport and other living expenses.
NSFAS has eligibility criteria which students have to satisfy in order to qualify for funding.
So are you allowed to apply for the NSFAS bursary if you have had other funding before? The answer is yes and no, as it depends on certain circumstances.
You are allowed to apply for NSFAS if the other funding isn’t for the year you’re applying to NSFAS for. You may apply if you are a South African citizen studying at a public university or TVET college.
If you have been registered at an institution and started studying before 2018, your household income must not be more than R122 000 per annum for you to qualify.
However, if you were registered in or after 2018 for the time then your combined household income must not be more then R350 000 to qualify. Persons living with disabilities should have a combined annual household income of R600 000 or less.
If you have other funding for the year already then you will need to abandon that funding if you want a NSFAS bursary.
NSFAS bursary criteria includes the following:
- South African citizen or permanent resident.
- Financial constraints which don’t allow you to fund your own studies such as:
- Being a SASSA grant recipient.
- Those who passed Grade 9 to 12 (for those applying for TVET funding).
- Those who passed Grade 12 (for those applying for University funding).
In order to stay funded by NSFAS students are required to pass all of their modules of their undergraduate degree.
To find out more about the NSFAS bursary, applications and the latest changes, head to our NSFAS page.Â
