Applications for 2021 student funding are open – here’s what you need to know

Higher education, science and innovation minister Blade Nzimande recently announced that the 2021 application cycle for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been opened.

According to the minister, applications will close on November 30.

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The NSFAS grant is for students from poor and working-class backgrounds who want to further their studies at any public technical and vocational education and training college (TVET) or university.

To qualify for funding, the applicant must be a South African citizen and from a family with a combined annual household income of no more than R350,000.

For students with a disability, the combined annual household income must not be more than R600,000.

“More than 700,000 students have been funded by NSFAS this year, 481,339 at universities while 248,242at TVET colleges. This is a 20% increase from the previous year when we compared registration data received in the same period 2019 vs 2020,” said Dr Nzimande.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme needs R4.3bn extra to cater for students this year because of delays brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The minister said NSFAS accounted for 40% of the undergraduate population at universities, and 70% at Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.

Applications for 2021 funding would be done online via the my NSFAS portal.

The application system will require a prospective students to submit their supporting documents, including:

• A copy of their ID;
• A parent or guardian’s proof of income
• A copy of the parent or guardian’s ID.

Dr Nzimande said National Youth Development Agency centres would be fully operational and accessible to applicants from September 1 to help applicants.

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