The number of registered private colleges in South Africa has grown over the years, catering to both the young and old people of the country’s population. If you’d like to study through a private institution, you might be wondering about the funding options available to you.
Many students in both private and public colleges don’t have the financial means to pay for their own tuition fees and therefore need financial aid.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) offers bursaries to qualifying students who are studying at public universities or Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges in South Africa.
This means that NSFAS does not offer financial aid to students in private colleges, but only to students who meet the following criteria:
- Must be studying at a public university or TVET college
- Must be South African citizens
- Can be a Social grant recipient
- Applicants whose combined household income is not more than R350 000 per annum
- Person with disability: Combined household income must not be more than R600 000 per annum
On the other hand, some financial institutions, such as banks, offer student loans to registered or enrolled private college students.
Student loans enable these students to cover the essential costs related to their studies. These costs include tuition fees, learning resources, accommodation and transportation.
Several factors make one financial institution different from the other such as the amount borrowed, the interest rate and when the loan will be repaid.
Here are some of the institutions that have students loans available in South Africa:
- Fundi Educational Loans
- Standard Bank
- ABSA
- First National Bank
- Capitec
- Nedbank
Students who intend on taking out a student loan with one of these institutions, will have to consider looking at each institution’s terms and conditions, including requirements that need to be met prior to applying for funding through this option.
Most, if not all, major banks are open to students pursuing their studies either part time or full time.
To find a student loan that is tailored to the specific needs of the student, it is important to do research across all of the financial institutions that offer student loans.
