The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has revealed its allowance payment plan for the 2024 academic year. This follows the scheme's provision of upfront payments totaling billions of rands to institutions to facilitate a smooth start to the academic year.
NSFAS provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving students enrolled in approved courses at public universities, including UNISA, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges.
Funding from NSFAS covers tuition and registration fees, as well as various allowances aimed at covering tertiary education costs such as living expenses, learning materials, transport, and meals.
For the 2024 academic year, NSFAS disbursed R2.8 billion to universities in January 2024 to cover one month of student accommodation and half of the book allowance. Additionally, two months' worth of allowances were provided to assist institutions with registered medical students whose academic year began in January 2024.
Further upfront payments were made in February to cover remaining allowances, including the second half of the book allowance, accommodation for March 2024, transport for February and March, meal allowances for February and March, and personal care allowances for February and March.
For TVET Colleges, NSFAS disbursed over R580 million for tuition fees in January 2024 and an additional R1 billion for student allowances for the first three months of 2024. TVET Colleges were urged to promptly load their registration information to facilitate payments on the direct payment platform.
Students Must Register For NSFAS Bank Accounts
NSFAS confirmed that allowances will be distributed using the direct payment method, utilising the same partners assigned to respective institutions in the previous year. Students must therefore ensure they complete the onboarding process for NSFAS allowances.
Due to challenges experienced at the start of the academic year, universities were asked to pay allowances for both February and March. Direct payments for the 2024 academic year will commence in April 2024.
Student Registration Data
NSFAS emphasises the importance of institutions uploading student registration data promptly to prevent delays in fund distribution. Students may be provisionally funded, however, they only begin receiving allowances when their institution uploads their registration data with NSFAS.
Any discrepancies in registration data may result in temporary blockage of transactions, with affected students receiving guidance on account reactivation via email and SMS notifications. This includes cases where NSFAS detects students who are registered at multiple institutions.
Institutions are advised to contact the NSFAS Servicing Administrator for further assistance.
