Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced on Thursday that NSFAS students in need of laptops would only receive them in the new academic year, which begins in March 2021. This comes as the current academic year draws to a close for some institutions.
NSFAS beneficiaries are provided with a student allowance on a monthly basis. These allowances are paid in cash, either directly to the student via NSFAS Wallet or via the institution to the student. Students are funded according to their specific university needs and expenses.
What happens if you fail a few subjects or modules? According to the NSFAS policy agreement students must pass at least 50% of their modules as well as meet the academic requirements of their institution in order to continue receiving financial aid during the course of their study period.
All students approved for a NSFAS bursary in and after 2018 can consider themselves debt free because your funding is in the form of a bursary and not a loan and therefore you will have no repayments. Students who have already graduated under NSFAS approved loans before 2018 will still have to repay their loans.
Unisa students who are registered for ten modules or more are also allocated an incidental allowance of R290 per month from February to November each year.
If you are currently funded by NSFAS, you are not required to reapply. A student can only be funded for one qualification at one institution at any one time. If the student completed a N6 qualification at a TVET college, he/she may be funded at a University.
NSFAS is a financial aid scheme which provides higher education funding to TVET College students. Their funding goes beyond tuition fees. NSFAS funds TVET College students by providing a bursary for fees as well as other allowances.
10.3 NSFAS only funds the cost of accommodation of students who live in accredited off- campus accommodation. The maximum amount allocated for accommodation is determined by the University annually.
Once you have been awarded your NSFAS Bursary then dial *134*176# and enter your ID number to verify & authenticate your account. Your account password will be sent to you via sms. You will be able to access your account by dialing *134*176#.
A living allowance will be provided directly to all DHET bursary recipients at universities not accommodated in catering residences, to cover food and incidental expenses. In 2020, this allowance will be R15 000.
The provision of money to pay for historical debt is a welcome relief for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded university students. The department said the money would assist students who owed fees from the previous year.
Payments start at 3% of your annual salary, increasing to a maximum of 8% when your salary reaches R59 300 or more per year. For example, this means you will pay back R900 a year on a salary of R30 000 a year, or R84 per month. When your salary is R59 300 you will pay back R4 744 a year or R696 a month.
You might be on your 20s or 30s when you decide that you want to pursue your very first degree. You do however have one problem, you can't afford it by yourself.
During the 2017 financial year, a total of just over R1 billion was allocated for the Programme. The Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme provides fixed bursary values that cover student tuition fees; accommodation fees (including meals); learning material; and a R600 per month stipend to cover basic living expenses.
NSFAS offers financial support to students who do not have the means to pay for their studies at tertiary institutions (public universities or TVET colleges). NSFAS operated as a loan until December 2017 and since 2018, NSFAS has been a bursary scheme.
