The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a government programme aimed at improving access to higher education and training.

NSFAS assists students from families with a total combined income of up to R350 000 per annum, with their tuition and, in some cases, their accommodation fees.

NSFAS Academic Requirements For Returning Students

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a government programme aimed at improving access to higher education and training. The scheme assists students from families with a total combined income of up to R350 000 per annum.

NSFAS is a government-funded programme that assists students from families with a total combined income of up to R350 000 per annum, with their tuition and, in some cases, their accommodation fees.

Students are required to submit the following documents for the NSFAS application:

• A copy of your valid ID document (such as a SA ID or driver’s licence)
• Your most recent school certificate (and academic transcripts)
• Proof of income from your parents/guardians – this can be one of the following:
• An affidavit from your employer confirming salary/income per month; OR
• A payslip for the last six months; OR
• A letter from an accountant confirming taxable income for both you and your parents over the past three years

NSFAS will also pay for your prescribed books and meal allowance if you qualify:

• Books and meals are not included in the NSFAS funding.
• You may be required to purchase a laptop for your studies. The cost of the laptop should not exceed R12 000, including VAT and delivery charges.
• If you qualify for NSFAS funding for your first year of study, you will receive a book allowance of R1 500 per semester (R3 000 per annum). If you do not qualify for funding, they can assist with purchasing prescribed books at an approved bookshop if they are available there or through a study material provider that has been accredited by them.

However qualifying for NSFAS does not guarantee you funding for the whole year as you must maintain adequate academic performance to keep getting funding from NSFAS.

You must maintain an academic performance of at least 40% in the academic year or semester just finished. This means that if your current mark is 40%, then you must have a minimum of 4 subjects with a pass rate of at least 40% to qualify for funding from NSFAS.

If your current mark is 30%, you will qualify for funding only if you can prove that during the period when your last study was done, all modules were passed or credits granted.

If at any point during the year or semester, your academic performance drops below this threshold, then it’s likely that you will not be able to continue receiving NSFAS funding until such time as it improves again.

You are required to have a pass rate of at least 40% in the academic year or semester just finished or credit for all subjects registered for the semester just finished.

To qualify for NSFAS funding the following academic requirements must be met:

You are required to have a pass rate of at least 40% in the academic year or semester just finished or credit for all subjects registered for the semester just finished.

The pass rate is calculated by dividing your total number of credits passed by your total number of registered modules, multiplied by 100 and rounded down to two decimal places. If you fail to meet this requirement, you will not qualify for funding.

There are situations where the institution may report inaccurate results on your transcripts even though you have completed all modules successfully, such as when an incorrect module code has been used by the university lecturers during registration or assessment (or) where some units were oversubscribed and failed because there were more students than available slots in class; as such it is important that you check carefully into any discrepancies before applying for NSFAS funding next year/semester so that there are no delays related to these issues.

Related:

• Five Essentials That Will Be Covered By NSFAS
• How Much Does NSFAS Give Students Per Month?
• NSFAS Awaiting Supporting Documents

Closing

You can read more about the NSFAS requirements for returning students on their website.