The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) said it received 1,545,822 applications for the 2024 academic year.
Applications for NSFAS will close at the end of the month and it is expected that more applications will come forward.
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday that government had provisionally funded 657,703 South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) recipients’ applicants.
He called on all applicants to complete a consent form in order to allow government to verify all information from third parties.
“The information is required to verify the employment status and income level of the parents, guardians, or spouses of the applicant. It is mandatory for applicants to download and upload a completed Consent form on the NSFAS website, portal or mobile app,” Nzimande said.
“The SARS (South African Revenue Service) Consent Form requirements affects students who are in the application data category and these students should patiently wait for communication from NSFAS through SMS and email, which will provide instructions on how to upload the form.”
DO NOT DENY NSFAS STUDENTS
Nzimande, urged colleges and universities not to deny National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded students with outstanding payments to register for the current academic year.
He said that NSFAS would process up to R4.2 billion as an upfront payment to all government colleges and universities before the finalisation of applications and registrations.
Out of the financial reserves, the scheme plans to allocate R1 billion to colleges and R3.2 billion to universities. This move aims to expedite the registration process for students relying on financial aid.
Nzimande acknowledged that the scheme faced challenges with outstanding allowances, citing a thorough data analysis provided by institutions to finalise payments for the 2023 academic year.
He called on NSFAS and institutions to collaborate and swiftly resolve these outstanding payments.
PAYMENT DELAYS
First year students have been frustrated with NSFAS and government over the non payment of bursaries, according to The South African Union of Students (SAUS).
The union said that a new payment system is the main problem and is causing delays in allocating the funding from NSFAS.
According to the SABC, hundreds of first-year students were dealing with the issues of not having funding to secure their accommodation and registration requirements.
“Pause registration so that you give everyone an equal opportunity, to those that can afford and those that cannot afford,” SAUS spokesperson Asive Dlanjwa said.
“The most practical thing to do in all honesty would be to pause those registrations because you can’t even implement an imposed quota because there’s no legislation to impose quotas on the general admission of students.”
IOL News