The Department of Higher Education and Training frequently conducts a set of cohort studies to study the progress and setbacks made by first time entering undergraduate students.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) cohort study considers any student who received government funding at any point of time during their studies.
In the cohort report published in February 2022, which covered the 2000 to 2019 national undergraduate for public higher education, it revealed that NSFAS students perform on average significantly above the general student population.
The study shows that the national cohort rate for dropouts was 32.4% and throughput rate was 61.2% during the 2000 to 2019 period.
Additionally, the study also showed that students who received funding from the NSFAS outperformed the national cohort. The NSFAS cohort rate for dropouts during the 2000 to 2019 period was 20.8% and a 71. 3% throughput rate.
During the 2016/17 financial year, the department of higher education began a national cohort study with a focus on NSFAS-funded students.
Speaking to the National Council of Provinces, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande voiced that the current study that is underway will be published in March 2023 and will include students on the new bursary scheme.
Nzimande expressed that at least 4 years of data would be required for 3 year- qualifications and 7 years of data for 4 year- qualifications and that no research regarding the drop-out rate of NSFAS beneficiaries were conducted.
It should be noted that the NSFAS has not conducted any research to date regarding the dropout rate of NSFAS beneficiaries. This has largely to do with aspects of the NSFAS policy regarding continued funding for all academic years prior to 2022.
In previous years, when a student was found not to be academically eligible for continued funding they were expected to continue studying at an institution as a self-funded student until the student was again academically eligible for NSFAS funding.
He explains that due to this, it makes the dropout rates artificial adding that the policies make it difficult to determine whether students have dropped out of their studies or whether they continued as self-funded students.
“Although the N+2 related policy no longer applies to NSFAS funding from the 2022 academic year for university students, the policy statements related to TVET colleges students still apply and as a result would continue to overinflate any dropout rates developed by the entity.”
NSFAS is therefore expected to provide statistics related to the drop-out rate of the beneficiaries that studied at the university as of the 2022 academic year.
