NSFAS Launches 2025 Application Process for Student Funding

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has officially opened its application process for the 2025 academic year. The announcement was made by Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane, during a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday, September 20, 2024.

The window for applications is now open and will remain so until December 15, 2024. Since its establishment, NSFAS has assisted over five million students, playing a crucial role in educating skilled professionals, particularly from poor and working-class backgrounds.

“These are the motivating forces that must be harnessed to contribute to the ongoing transformation of our country. Social transformation involves improving the material conditions of all South Africans, and education is vital to achieving this,” Nkabane stated at the briefing.

Currently, NSFAS supports approximately 1.2 million students annually, with expectations for this number to increase in 2025. Nkabane emphasized NSFAS’s role in dismantling the remnants of colonial and apartheid-era educational inequities, labeling the scheme as “the only tool we have at our disposal for the total liberation of children from historically oppressed backgrounds.”

This year marks the introduction of a Comprehensive Student Funding Model aimed at supporting “missing middle” students—those who fall below the threshold for NSFAS bursaries but above the poverty line. This model provides loans to students from households with annual incomes between R350,000 and R600,000.

To apply for NSFAS funding, interested students should visit the official NSFAS website at www.nsfas.org.za and complete the application using a personal device. After creating a myNSFAS account, applicants must fill out the online form, upload required documents, and submit their application.

Eligibility criteria for receiving NSFAS funding include being a South African citizen or permanent resident with a household income not exceeding R350,000 per year, or not more than R600,000 for persons with disabilities. Recipients of SASSA grants automatically qualify for NSFAS support without the need to submit income proof.

NSFAS funding is available only to those pursuing studies at public universities or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in South Africa. Minister Nkabane has encouraged students to apply promptly and reiterated that learners need not wait for their matric results to begin the application process.

Outreach programs will continue across all provinces, targeting rural and township areas to ensure broad access to information and application support. “Learners should apply now to avoid delays,” Nkabane urged.

In addition to the launch, NSFAS has introduced enhancements to the application portal to facilitate a smoother process. To further assist prospective students, NSFAS will conduct activations at selected schools nationwide.