At the start of the 2023 academic year, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Board Chairperson, Ernest Khosa mentioned that the scheme is confident about the year ahead and that it plans to seamlessly manage student funding.
According to NSFAS, an amount of R47 billion had been allocated for this year’s budget and anticipated making upfront payments of approximately R3.5 billion to universities and R2.7 billion to TVET colleges.
“To correct issues with the payment of allowances, the Scheme sought an alternative, secure and student-centred approach which will see students receiving their allowances through a bank card,” said shared the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr. Blade Nzimande.
Communication has been sent to NSFAS university students, requesting them to register for their NSFAS Bank Accounts.
In a statement, the government bursary scheme announced:
Bursary recipients will receive allowances directly as of June 2023 through their NSFAS bank account.
Allowances for students living with disabilities will be paid through their institution of higher learning. This was followed by the Scheme advising students to open their NSFAS bank account to conveniently receive their monthly allowances.
University students have been encouraged to register as soonest to avoid delays in receiving their allowances.
Some of the NSFAS bursary recipients have shared that they are excited as student allowances will be easily accessible through this new method and they will no longer be forced to wait in long queues to withdraw their funds.
One of the perks of using the NSFAS bank account includes being able to put your savings to good use and invest in your future.
Here’s How Students Can Receive The NSFAS Mastercard:
Once the bursary recipients have been onboarded onto the NSFAS new system, they will receive a card (virtual or physical) to perform transactions as they would with mainstream bank accounts.
To onboard onto the new NSFAS Bank Account, students have been encouraged to visit the official NSFAS website or follow updates on their social media pages for updates.
