The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) is an important instrument used by the government to help thousands of students achieve their academic goals.
The financial aid scheme ensures that deserving students from poor and working class backgrounds can obtain tertiary education qualifications without having to worry about the cost.
Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande revealed that R80 Billion has been set aside by the government for the next three years to ensure deserving students can access tertiary education.
The minister praised this investment in post school education which they believe will transform the sector and ensure it becomes more accessible to deserving students.
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“This is a massive investment in student support and an important government policy to support and transform the post school education and training system to be inclusive and accessible,” declared Nzimande.
Nsfas was praised for its achievements over the past three decades which were labelled as remarkable. This came as the scheme celebrates 30 years of assisting students with loans and later bursaries during their existence.
The performance of Nsfas in achieving the goal of providing student access and success is remarkable, given the increase of loans and bursaries awarded to the poor and academically deserving students since the formation of the scheme
In 2020, Nsfas funding was supporting 765,740 students with a budget of R37 billion. This grew from the 7,240 students who benefited from Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa (TEFSA) funding in 1991 with a value of R33 million.
Nsfas will be allocated a R49 billion budget in the 2022/23 financial year.
