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Noxolo Sithole*, an orphan raised by her grandparents, had been stressing about being rejected by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) for weeks.
She could not understand how Nsfas decided that her grandmother Nomusa*, who earns less than R7 000 a month as a cleaner, was too well off for her to be funded.
Noxolo said she applied for financial aid in October but soon after received notification that her application was rejected because Nomusa earns more than R350 000 a year, which is not true.
“I was shocked. I could not believe it,” she said.
Noxolo had already been accepted by the University of Johannesburg to study teaching. Late this week the matter was resolved and her application was approved.
But about 35 000 students remain in a similar position.
“I grew up as an orphan with my little brother. I was raised by my grandparents. I have always wanted to be a teacher because I am good with people and I know I will help a lot of teenagers because I have been through a lot. I want to fulfil my dreams and make my grandparents proud. My grandpa said he’ll pass away happy if he sees me wearing a gown. I needed funding with all my heart.”
Nsfas spokesperson Kagisho Mamabolo said the scheme was busy reviewing unsuccessful applications and it was making progress.
“The review process was introduced by Dr Randall Carolissen, Nsfas administrator, as one of the measures to ensure improvement in the standards and quality of student funding decisions,” Mamabolo said.
He said more than 65 000 of the 100 000 previously rejected applications were reviewed and approved. The rest were still being reviewed. More than 300 000 students who qualify for fee-free education had been approved this year. This included 50 000 students whose families receive social grants.
Mamabolo said Nsfas received more than 410 000 applications by the closing date last year with more than 95% already processed. He said students were encouraged to login on the myNSFAS self-service portal – www.nsfas.org.za – for a status update. If approved a notice saying “Approved for funding subject to registration” would appear.
Last year Nsfas funded 659 000 students. Of these, 371 368 attended universities and 288 341 technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges. Mamabolo said this number was expected to increase to 400 920 TVET students and 377 050 university students this year, according to projections.
Last year Nsfas disbursed loans and bursaries amounting to R22 billion. This is expected to increase to about R32 billion this year.
Mamabolo said about 800 000 students – including returning and first-time students – will qualify for free-fees education this year. Nsfas will provide the final number once all funding application decisions had been concluded and the scheme received all registration data from the academic institutions.
Of the 410 000 applications received this year, 300 000 had been approved. Last year Nsfas funded 329 492 first-time students.
Mamabolo said it was against government policy for institutions to refuse Nsfas-approved students’ registration.
“Nsfas has a long-standing agreement with universities. Funded students should not be asked or required to pay a registration fee, as this is covered as part of their bursary. In January of every academic year Nsfas makes upfront payments to universities and colleges which amount to at least 13% of the provisional allocation of the year. This upfront payment covers student registration fees, books and essential allowances,” he said.
*Not their real names.
