The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has completed all assessments of the 2019 applications of first time entering students. Of the 417 000 applications received, more than 300 000 students have been declared approved, pending registration at public institutions for NSFAS funded qualifications.

In December 2018, the NSFAS Administrator, Dr Randall Carolissen called for review of the 109 000 applications that were initially unsuccessful for the 2019 academic year. Following this process, over 60 000 of these applicants, have subsequently been declared financially eligible. As NSFAS processed applications in the pipeline, the number of unsuccessful applicants escalated to 65 000.

There are unfortunately some students who have been unsuccessful based on information that we received from credit bureaus regarding their household income. Should a student want to dispute this outcome because of changes to the household income or SASSA status, they may lodge an appeal by providing the necessary documentation to NSFAS.

An appeal form can be downloaded from the NSFAS Website, www.nsfas.org.za, and must be completed and submitted to the Financial Aid Office at the institution. Alternatively, students can submit appeals directly to NSFAS, along with required documentation, to applicationreview@nsfas.org.za. The closing date for appeals is 08 March 2019.

Appeals will only be considered on the following grounds:

1. Material change in combined household income (proof of loss of income needed with a fully completed NSFAS form for students that were not previously funded)
2. Loss of a bursary/sponsor in the 2018 academic cycle (documented proof should be provided and should be accompanied by a fully completed NSFAS application form)
3. Failure to meet academic criteria where prior academic performance has been satisfactory (provide supporting information and documentation that provides details of the reasons that affected performance)
4. Failure to meet academic criteria due to medical condition (s) or death of an immediate family member (provide supporting information and documentation)
5. Student had a gap year in NSFAS funding or failed to register previously and could not reapply for funding.
6. More than one student from the same household concurrently enrolled at a university/TVET college, and
7. Applying for an approved postgraduate qualification (see section F on the appeal form for list).

Students are encouraged to login on the myNSFAS self-service portal www.nsfas.org.zato check their application status update, for those students that have been approved for funding, their status will now reflect as: “Approved for funding subject to registration”, and for those who have been rejected for funding, the status will reflect as “Application unsuccessful”.

CUT is sharing the information on behalf of NSFAS. Please contact NSFAS with any questions.

NSFAS

Issued by: Kagisho Mamabolo, Spokesperson

Office of the Administrator

Download the full media release from NSFAS (PDF)