The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has announced good news for thousands of students. After reviewing applications, NSFAS has determined that many students who initially applied for loans actually qualify for bursaries.
NSFAS provides crucial financial assistance to deserving students pursuing higher education at universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. Funding covers tuition, registration fees, and essential living expenses like food, accommodation, and learning materials.
Students from households earning less than R350,000 per year are eligible for bursaries. Students from households earning between R350,000 and R600,000 per year won't qualify for bursaries but may qualify for loans.
NSFAS received over 17,000 loan applications for the 2025 academic year. NSFAS conducted a thorough review of applications received for the 2025 academic year and found that many students fall below the income threshold for loans.
16,013 applicants were found to qualify for bursaries instead of loans. This change will significantly reduce the financial burden on students and their families.
In a statement released, NSFAS revealed:
NSFAS found that 16,013 applicants to be below the R350,000 threshold and these applicants were all converted to be bursary applications.
Of the applications received for a NSFAS loan, 1487 were rejected with 52 initially considered for loans. However, 104 of these were disqualified due to exceeding the income threshold for NSFAS loans.
NSFAS is still reviewing applications received during the TVET college student application window, which closed in January 2025, with 1,504 applications still needing to be evaluated.
This NSFAS process of reviewing loan applications will be in place until NSFAS is done with all of the 2025 loan applications received.
Students are encouraged to carefully review their funding options and ensure their applications are complete and accurate.
