The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) funds public university and college students who are financially unable to pay for their tuition fees. While the aim is to provide financial assistance, the bursary scheme only covers students for a certain number of years.
In previous years, National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) was a loan until it was converted into a bursary in 2015.
This was followed by a number of changes, as there were adjustments to Nsfas being a bursary scheme.
The bursary scheme helps fund the students’ studies as per the N+ rule. According to this rule, students are funded for the standard duration of their qualification, and also have 2 more additional years should the student not be able to complete their undergraduate qualification in record time.
As of the 2024, Nsfas announced that funding for postgraduate courses will be discontinued. This applies to postgraduate certificates, postgraduate diplomas, honours degrees, masters and PhD degrees.
However, postgraduate students who were funded for any of the 2024 Nsfas-funded postgraduate qualifications were granted continued funding in 2024 for the completion of the course.
Students who seek funding for their postgraduate qualifications, are encouraged to contact and apply through the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Students may also approach their current institutions’ bursary offices for other options that might be available to fund their postgraduate courses.
