By Dan Mdluli
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has expressed congratulatory remarks to students who were successful in applying for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in the 2021 academic year. According to the department, just over 90 000 TVET college students and over 50 000 university students did not receive NSFAS funding for the 2021 academic year. The NSFAS ensures that financial aid reaches the right and deserving students timeously through the new bursary scheme which gives effect to government’s vision to ensure that all academically-deserving students from poor and working-class backgrounds, who are admitted to study at public universities and colleges are provided financial support to obtain their first undergraduate qualification.
Minister Nzimande said their bursary guidelines were based on the principles that student funding policy ought to be fair, rational, affordable and implementable. Nzimande further said that meant the policy decisions were made to ensure that students were provided the best possible support to succeed, taking into account the different circumstances of institutions.
He added that the funding ought to be affordable within the parameters of the funding provided by government, with focus on the need for sustainability of the scheme for the future. The bursary scheme supports the goals of the National Development Plan (2012) and the white paper on Post-School Education and Training (2013) to expand access to higher education for deserving students through financial support from government, and to support greater student success and throughput. The minister appealed to current and prospective students to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the funding guidelines to avoid being unfunded or turned down.
Nzimande urged NSFAS together with all institutions to conduct information sessions with the South African National Student Union and all Student Representative Councils on the guidelines so as to minimize the number of students unfunded or unsuccessful in their applications.
