ISFAP

The Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) is a South African bursary scheme designed to fully fund university studies for students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. Here’s an overview:

• Purpose & Background:
  
  ISFAP was established following recommendations by a Ministerial Task Team in 2016, led by Sizwe Nxasana, as a public–private partnership. Its goal is to support “poor” and “missing middle” students—those who do not qualify for NSFAS funding—so they can access and complete tertiary education.

• Who It Helps:
  
  The bursary targets South African citizens from families with an annual household income of up to R600,000. This range includes both very poor households (R0–R350,000) and the “missing middle” (R350,000–R600,000).

• What It Covers:
  
  ISFAP funding is comprehensive. It typically covers:

  • Tuition fees (paid in full)
  • Accommodation (or travel support if no on-campus housing is available)
  • Books and learning materials
  • Meals and a living allowance
  • Additional academic support, life skills training, mentoring, and even medical support when needed

• Application Process & Eligibility:
  
  To qualify, applicants must:

  • Be South African citizens
  • Come from a household earning no more than R600,000 per year
  • Be accepted into one of the partnered public universities and enrolled in an eligible degree program (often in fields considered to be of high demand or scarce skills)
  • Meet academic criteria that can include matric results, a means test, and sometimes additional assessments (such as a National Benchmarking Test)
    
    Applications are submitted online via the ISFAP website.

• Partner Institutions:
  
  ISFAP has partnered with numerous public universities—such as the University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, and several others—to fund selected programs that are critical to South Africa’s economic development.