NSFAS to fund ‘missing middle’ students in 2024
NSFAS announcement – new Comprehensive Student Funding Model for ‘missing middle’ students
Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and innovation, has made an announcement that the South African government has set aside funds for the country’s ‘missing middle’ students, for the 2024 academic year. The funds are estimated to be R3.8 billion, and are intended to help the students who did not qualify to receive National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
‘Missing middle’ students are those who come from a household with an income between R350 000 and R600 000 per annum. These students are classified in the ‘missing middle’ category as NSFAS primarily offers bursary funds to those students who have a household income of up to R350 000.
When does the NSFAS loan application close?
Applications are closing on 15 February 2024. Read the application instructions below to apply.
What expenses will the funding cover?
Students can expect to be funded for expenses relating to tuition fees, learning materials and accommodation.
Who qualifies for funding?
- Students whose household income is between R350 000 and R600 000 per annum
- Students attending public universities and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges
- Students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies
It has also been stated that exceptions will be made for certain students, namely those who live with disabilities, those that come from households earning no more than R650 000, and those that come from households with more than one student at university, with an income of no more than R650 000.
Which fields will the funding cover?
70% of the funding will be allocated to students pursuing studies within STEM programmes (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This amount may be adjusted to also include various in-demand commercial programmes within the labour market, as well as entrepreneurial programmes.
The remaining 30% will be allocated to Humanities programmes.
What are the terms and conditions?
- Students must sign a loan agreement.
- Students are responsible to apply for a loan continuation for their preceding years of study (i.e. they must reapply each year). To qualify for this, students must maintain a minimum overall average of 60%.
- Students who achieve a minimum overall average 70% within a prescribed time, may qualify for a 50% reduction in their loan.
How to apply for the NSFAS loan
Step 1: Visit the myNSFAS website
Step 2: Click the “Create Profile” tab and fill in your details
Step 3: Login to your account using your ID number and password
Step 4: Fill in the online application form
Note: students who already applied for the NSFAS bursary do NOT have to submit a new application for the student loan scheme. All students who did not meet the bursary scheme eligibility criteria, however, meet the loan scheme eligibility criteria, will be automatically offered a loan for their consideration.
Where is the funding coming from?
Nzimande stated that of the R 3.8 billion loan scheme, R1.5 billion will be received from the national skills fund, with the remaining R 2.3 billion from SETA’s.
When will the ‘missing middle’ students receive their funding?
The allocated amount is expected to fund 47% of the missing middle students – this means about 31,884 of the estimated 68,446 students in the category, will receive funding.
Nzimande has stated that the government is ready to implement the first phase of the model, ensuring the ‘missing middle’ will be able to access financial support in the form of loans to complete their studies.
The second phase of the funding model will be implemented from 2025 to 2034, with the government increasing the funding to between R 31.6 billion and R42.1 billion within the next decade.
The loan scheme will be facilitated by NSFAS, who is mandated to manage all government student loans, and is responsible for finding adequate partners to manage the loan scheme. This is after NSFAS reportedly terminated contracts with four direct payments service providers following allegations of conflict of interest in their appointment.
Nzimande stated that NSFAS will deliver on front-end services that are user interface, and where necessary, partner with various public/ private financial institutions and universities. Partnerships with such institutions will be beneficial as these institutions have experience in running student loan schemes, and may be able to provide NSFAS with backend support and other services.
Between the years 2019 and 2022, NSFAS has funded over 2.9 million beneficiaries, to the value of R123 billion.
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In other NSFAS news
In a separate statement, Nzimande stated that with immediate effect, Professor Lourens van Staden (the former vice chancellor of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)) has been appointed as the acting chairperson of NSFAS.
This decision was made in conjunction with Ernest Khosa’s (the former board chairperson of NSFAS) leave of absence amid allegations of corruption against him by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).