What is NSFAS Bursary, and how do Access and Apply for 2023/24?

Free and fair decolonized higher education was the clarion call made by the youth of South Africa and various students organization during the #FeesMustFall movement in 2016. Since then, the South African government and the national Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through NSFAS in 2018 slowly allowed for fully subsidized free higher education and training for the poor and disadvantaged young South Africans. The NSFAS higher education scheme has been funding students since 1999 but has evolved to offer disadvantaged prospective university students the opportunity to attain higher education qualification for free. In this five-minute blog, you will read about what is NSFAS, how it works, and how and when to apply to the bursary scheme. 2. What is NSFAS?

Obtaining university tuition funding that does not bind you or your parents to monthly repayment installments is every South African university prospective student's dream, and the National Students Financial Aid Scheme can help you achieve that goal (NSFAS).

The National Students Financial Aid Scheme, or NSFAS, is a government entity established following the NSFAS Act 65 of 1999 to provide financial assistance to financially disadvantaged prospective students wishing to further their studies at a South African public university or TVET college. NSFAS provides financial assistance to South Africans who want to further their higher education but lack the funds to pay tuition. Each individual must come from a family with a combined annual income of less than R350,000. Government employees, domestic workers, security guards, factory workers, hawkers, street vendors, self-employed, municipality workers, miners, and anyone whose Guidant/Parents is unemployed and earns a combined salary of less than R350,00 annually may be eligible for NSFAS. 2.1 Who is eligible to Apply for NSFAS Bursary Each bursary scheme will have its own set of minimum requirements that all prospective applicants must meet. This section will go over who is and is not eligible to apply for the NSFAS bursary scheme. Here are some of the scheme requirements, followed by an examination of how and when to apply for an NSFAS bursary. The requirements criteria listed below are NSFAS set minimum requirements guidelines for every prospective applicant; they are intended to assist prospective students in submitting their application and disclosing information promptly. A. Who is Eligible for NSFAS Funding? · South African citizens and permanent resident · Must be registered or gained entry to a public university or TVET college · Individuals who are beneficiaries of SASSA grants · Individuals with a household combined income of less than R350,000 yearly · Individuals with a disability and with a household combined income of less than R600,000 yearly · Enrolled Students who started university/TVET college before 2018 with a household income of less than R122,000 per year · Individuals with a criminal record or currently in correctional services

B. Who is NOT Eligible for NSFAS Funding? · Individuals who hold a Higher Education qualification · Individuals whose household income is more than R350,000 · Individuals who have previously received NSFAS funding · Graduate applying for postgraduate qualification (from 2021) · Non-South African citizens

3. What does the NSFAS Bursary cover? The most common mistake made by many NSFAS bursary recipients is not spending their funds wisely. In many cases, students tend to exceed their capped bursary funds, failing to meet their institution's structured cost of study and ultimately owing the institution. While NSFAS ensures that the amounts indicated for housing, living allowance, transportation, and learning materials costs are by the most recent DHET guidelines, we all know that this is never the case. Depending on where your institution is located (see Public universities in South Africa) and the cost of living, the university/TVET structured cost will differ between an institution in a metropolitan area and one in a town or township. Accommodation and living expenses will be the most expensive part of a student's accommodation cost for students in the city, while transportation and learning materials will be the most expensive part for students in townships and towns. With that said, here are the expenses covered by the NSFAS bursary during the academic tenure of the beneficiary/awardee; the list will include both university students and TVET college students. 1. NSFAS covered expenses for public university students · Accommodation (R50-55,000 per year) for private hostels · Transportation (R7,500 per year) if living 40km away from the institution · Monthly living expenses (R15,000 per year) if living in private accommodation · Book allowance (R5,200 per year) · Personal care allowance (R2,900) if living in university hostels

2. NSFAS covered expenses for public TVET colleges · Accommodation (R24,000 per year) in an urban area (city) · Accommodation (R18,000 annually) if living in a peri-urban area (township) · Accommodation (R15,750 per year) if living in rural areas · Transportation (R7,500 annually) if living 40km away from the institution · Transportation (R7,000 annually) · Incidents/personal care allowance (R2,900 annually)

4. When and How to Apply for NSFAS

NSFAS applications are open annually at the end of November for university prospective students, and they remain open until the beginning of the following year, in many cases until the end of February. On the other hand, TVET colleges' prospective students' NSFAS application opens twice a year, with the scheme application cycle running concurrently with the semester academic calendar of the TVET colleges. NSFAS will accept applications for the 2023/24 university academic year beginning in November 2022 and closing in January 2023. TVET college students applying for National Certificate Vocation (NCV) must submit their application at the start of each year for Semester 1 and Trimester 1, while applications for Trimester 2 & 3 open in May and September each year, and applications for Semester 2 open on the first of June each year. To access the NSFAS application system, simply go to their website www.nsfas.org.za and click on the myNSFAS tab. NSFAS applications are submitted once and will cover you for the duration of your studies. How to apply for NSFAS university funding To apply for NSFAS bursary both TVET and university prospective students need to follow the simple 5 steps listed below. 1. Go to www.nsfas.org.za and click on the ‘myNSFAS’ tab. 2. Create your ‘myNSFAS’ account 3. Click on the Apply button and complete the screening section 4. Upload your supporting documents 5. When all is done, click the Submit button Alternative to apply for NSFAS bursary funding 1. TVET college bursary office 2. Online (myNSFAS) 3. NSFAS head office 4. Thusong Service Centres 5. National Youth Developments Agency (NYDA) offices

NSFAS contact details

Call center: 0800067327 Email: info@nsfas.org.za Twitter: @myNSFAS Instagram: @myNSFAS

Conclusion

The National Students Funding Aid Scheme is a South African government initiative that ensures that even low-income families can afford university/college tuition. This brief blog will explain what NSFAS is, how it works, and when and how to apply for the bursary scheme. All information in this article is subject to change; individuals should always visit www.nsfas.org.za for all NSFAS published information.

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