The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has officially opened its application season for pupils and out-of-school youth from poor and working-class backgrounds to apply for funding to study at public universities and TVET colleges.
Making the announcement on Thursday morning, minister of higher education Blade Nzimande said the application process is also open to individuals who are already enrolled at institutions of higher learning but are without funding but qualify for NSFAS funding.
He said the funding will be open from Tuesday next week until January 7 when matric results are released.
Nzimande said considering the impact of the coronavirus, now more than ever, the demand for student funding has increased. "As the government, we had to take an exhaustive exercise to categorise the students into the following five cohorts, which we believe will cover all students who have potential and are in need of funding," he said.
Funding will be given to first-time entering students who are SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) beneficiaries, and also to returning students who are Sassa beneficiaries.
The following group will be first-time entering and returning students who are not Sassa beneficiaries and students living with disability.
Nzimande said he has appointed a ministerial task team (MTT) to look at student funding policy for the future. "This MTT is working hard at developing policy proposals for a long- term student financial aid policy that takes into account the comprehensive student financial aid needs of the post-school system.
"The immediate challenge relates to identifying a sustainable mechanism for supporting students in higher education and training for the future and in particular looking at alternative funding sources to widen funding for missing middle and postgraduate students, while continuing to address support for students from poor and working-class backgrounds," he said.
Nzimande said despite the fact that the government has increased funding exponentially for students in TVET colleges and universities, it remains concerned about categories of students who struggle to afford higher education and the growing levels of student debt.
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