The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) says it will register students who were not able to apply for funding during the application window.
The application period will open for a two weeks period starting from the 18 August 2021.
Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande says the initiative is aimed at alleviating the financial pressure of eligible and deserving students.
“The NSFAS Board, after careful consideration of the plight of currently registered university students that were not able to apply for funding during the funding application window due to a number of reasons, resolved to grant a once-off application window period for those students to apply,” says Nzimande.
He says all universities are required to send their exhaustive list by no later than 17 August 2021 to be considered for this once-off opportunity.
“The application period will open for a two-week period, from 18 August 2021 – 3 September 2021.”
NSFAS has encouraged all universities to notify students to ensure that they apply and have all the relevant supporting documents as applications submitted after the closing date will not be considered.
Nzimande has restated that the NSFAS Board decision that this initiative is not intended to create any future precedence and has also factored in, amongst other things, the NSFAS available funds.
“We are indeed a caring government and Ministry,”emphasised Nzimande.
This concession is applied only to qualifying students who are registered in the 2021 academic cycle and are without any other form of bursary and requisite financial support.
