The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) opened the funding application cycle for the 2023 academic years on 28 September 2022.
Prior to this, the Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Dr. Blade Nzimande had announced that this application cycle opened with the Scheme’s system having been improved.
According to Nzimande, the NSFAS online application system had been improved in terms of its usability, making it simpler for students to use.
To make the application process easier, in an interview, the Scheme’s CEO Andile Nongongo said:
We are trying to make the application form simple, so that prospective bursary recipients don’t spend more than 10 minutes on an application. With the aim of trying to bring this down to 5 minutes.
It is through this newly improved system that students will be able to start an application, pause it and continue where they left off.
As some of the students applying for funding reside in rural and remote parts of South Africa, there are plans to expand partners so that students won’t have to worry about data when applying.
Some of these include working with the Department of Basic Education and schools to help them with the application process while the students are still in school.
The NSFAS application system has been redesigned, and made similar to other platforms that applicants are accustomed to.
Here’s What Is Needed When Applying To NSFAS
When applying for the Scheme’s financial support, students will be required to obtain certain documents such as a parents/guardian proof of income, bank statements, the applicant's ID document or passport copy, etc.
It is then important that students gather the required documents before they even register for a myNSFAS account.
