Starting next year, students seeking financial aid through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) must achieve a minimum course average of 60%, announced Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande. The changes were revealed during a media briefing on Tuesday, focusing on the preparedness of NSFAS and universities as the registration week commenced.
According to Nzimande, both continuing and first-time university students must attain a course credit pass rate of 60% by the end of the 2024 academic year to qualify for academic success and funding in 2025. He specified that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students would only be eligible for a bursary when progressing to the next national certificate level if they passed at least five subjects in the previous level.
As of January 21, NSFAS had received 1,545,822 applications for the current academic year, with 657,703 Sassa recipients provisionally funded. Nzimande acknowledged the debt owed by NSFAS to some universities, extending back to 2017, and the outstanding amount of over R40bn owed by previous beneficiaries.
In terms of debt recovery, Nzimande mentioned that in the current financial year, NSFAS had recovered over R110m. With the assistance of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), they secured acknowledgments of debt totaling over R4m from former beneficiaries and over R38m from institutions of higher learning. The SIU has also recovered over R58m from these institutions.
Nzimande urged students to cooperate in making arrangements for repayments to honour the conditions of the previous loan scheme, emphasizing the importance of the loan scheme’s sustainability. While acknowledging current stability in recoveries, Nzimande highlighted the potential for further improvement to augment annual government funding.
Despite challenges, NSFAS funding has grown significantly, disbursing R21.4m in 1991 and reaching almost R48bn in 2023. However, a 10% budget reduction announced by the Treasury in November may affect more than 80,000 students, impacting this year’s intake. NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi indicated that the exact reduction’s impact would depend on the final budget from the Treasury, potentially leading to a reduction in student intake.