For many of the country’s financially vulnerable tertiary students, the NSFAS bursary scheme plays an important role in ensuring they are able to complete their studies. This cohort of students includes those enrolled in the country’s 50 TVET colleges.
However, there is a slight difference in the scheme’s disbursement policy when it comes to TVET College's students, one of which is the scheduling of student funding disbursement.
For the 2023 academic year, the National Student Financial Aids Scheme announced that their student funding applications window for TVET college students is currently open, but will close on the dates listed below.
- Trimester 2 applications are to open from the 5th of May 2023 and close on the 22nd of May 2023.
- Semester 2 applications are to open from the 17th of July 2023 and close on the 31st of July 2023.
- Trimester 3 applications are to open from the 4th of September 2023 and close on the 20th of September 2023
NSFAS further stated that the application process for each of the remaining cycles in 2023 will be the same as it was for the first cycle, which means students will submit their own applications online through the NSFAS website.
The bursary scheme further stated that the opening and closing dates for 2023 NSFAS TVET walk-in applications are aligned closely with the TVET academic calendar issued by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).
Additionally, NSFAS expressed its desire to close the pay gap between students enrolled in public universities and TVET college students. Once the NSFAS budget for the 2023 academic year has been finalised, these allowances may change.
Applicants are reminded to ensure that they complete the entire application process before submitting as opposed to merely creating a myNSFAS profile and assuming that they have completed their applications.
