The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) recently revealed that more than 58 000 students have been approved for funding for the 2023 academic year. These students submitted NSFAS appeals to the financial aid scheme after their initial funding applications were rejected by NSFAS.
NSFAS Acting Chief operations Officer, Vuyokazi Mafilika said the fund had received 170 683 financial and academic appeals from first-time and returning students who were defunded or rejected.
NSFAS has received a total of 170 683 appeals from FTEN and Returning students. These are a mixture of financial and academic eligibility appeals.
These students were initially rejected from receiving the NSFAS bursary because they did not meet the NSFAS financial and academic requirements to be considered for funding. Of these, 58 924 students were funded again; 6 337 applicants were rejected; 28 971 were “deemed invalid” because of withdrawn, deleted and duplicated appeals.
There are 28 971 appeals that are deemed invalid, and these consist of withdrawn, deleted and duplicated appeals.
Meanwhile, a further 44 561 appeals are dependent on institutions to load academic results and on applicants to upload missing information; the remaining 31 890 are “in progress”.
Why NSFAS Applications Are Rejected
One of the key NSFAS requirements to qualify for Nsfas funding is that an applicant (who is able-bodied) has a household income of R350 000 per year or less. If it’s found that their household income exceeds R350 000 per year, they would be rejected.
During the appeal process, the scheme will give a list of possible reasons for the application being rejected and if you are able to provide the necessary documentation to prove that you do qualify for funding, Nsfas will then reconsider your application.
In the event, where the scheme rejects your application based on the income threshold, they will only consider your appeal if:
- The financial circumstances of their household have changed since the submission of their application and evidence of this is provided to NSFAS.
- Students can provide evidence that their household income is indeed below the threshold.
- A key contributor to their household income has become incapacitated or is deceased since the submission of their application.
- The student/ applicant has been declared independent of their biological parents by a court and the court has determined that the parents are not responsible for the student’s/ applicant’s maintenance, including the cost of his/ her education.
- The student/ applicant is from a child-headed household and this is substantiated by a report from a social worker registered with the Department of Social Development.
- The parents of a student/ applicant are divorced and in terms of the divorce decree, a court has determined that the responsibility for child maintenance, including the responsibility for the cost of education, is restricted to one parent.
Furthermore, NSFAS urged students who have submitted appeals to upload all the requested outstanding information in order for it to be processed.
NSFAS wrote in a tweet:
Remember if you have been requested to upload missing information, please do so in order for your appeal application to be processed.
Students whose NSFAS appeals are successful receive comprehensive funding from NSFAS. In addition to the payment of registration and tuition fees, NSFAS will also provide funded students with several allowances to cover costs students will incur while they study.
NSFAS provides students with an accommodation allowance, a living allowance and a learning material allowance. Students who do not reside in accommodation facilities may receive a transport allowance.
To find out more about the NSFAS bursary, applications and the latest changes, head to our NSFAS page.
