Bursaries provided by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) ensure that thousands of students from poor and working-class backgrounds can obtain tertiary education qualifications.
The comprehensive bursaries provided by Nsfas will pay a student's tuition and accommodation fees. Nsfas-funded students also receive a transport allowance, living allowance, book allowance and an incidental/personal care allowance of R2900 per annum for students in catered residences
To qualify for a Nsfas bursary, a student must meet the following Nsfas Funding Criteria
- Be A South African citizen
- Have a combined household income of less than R350 000 per annum
- Have a combined household income of less than R600,000 per annum (students living with a disability)
- Be registered or intending to register for the first time for an approved programme at a public university or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college.
The South African Students Congress (SASCO) is calling for Nsfas to adjust their bursary eligibility criteria as many students don't qualify for funding but cannot afford the costs associated with tertiary education.
During the African National Congress’s 55th Congress, SASCO called for an increase in the income threshold for Nsfas bursaries, investment in postgraduate student funding, and the deliberations of a revised student funding model.
“The household income threshold utilised by Nsfas must be increased from R350 000 to R600 000. This will go a long way in addressing the devastating plight of the missing middle students, who in the main are children of the working class,” declared the student union.
SASCO argued that the government cannot build a development state that is characterised by innovative economic drivers outside scientific research and development. They, therefore, called for the government to aggressively invest in postgraduate funding to ensure this scientific research and development can take place.
Any funding model that we use, must not in any way yoke the children of the working class in chains and bondages of debt
The student union believes that the corporate and private sector must contribute to the funding of Nsfas. They explained that the current funding model relies largely on taxation and argued that the largest beneficiaries of Free Education (the private sector) become the biggest contributors.
