What Does NSFAS Cover – Five Essentials Covered by NSFAS

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme was launched by the government for students who cannot pay their fees. It is designed for students who are unable to afford their study expenditures due to money deprivation. In the beginning, it was known for providing students a monthly allowance but today, its policy has been changed by authorities.

NSFAS covers major expenses of a student including the registration fee to the clearance charges at the end of the degree. A student does not need to pay a single rand to the university nor does he need to worry about the daily meal because NSFAS also provides high-quality food to the enrolled students. If your excitement is increasing to know the essentials provided by NSFAS, come with me to explore the 5 major essentials covered by NSFAS.

Five Essentials That Will Be Covered by NSFAS

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme is a light of hope for all those suffering in the darkness of financial crises. The purpose of NSFAS is to provide education to all the students who cannot afford the basic expenditures of the university. Basically, the unemployment rates are increasing in the country and students are bearing the brunt of surging anarchy in the job market.

Therefore, the majority of the students are unable to afford their university fees because they do not have an income source. Additionally, polls suggest that a student earns less than the average income of a person in South Africa so you can understand how hard it can be for a disadvantaged student to pay the dues of his university.

When it comes to university fees and higher education, a student is not only required to pay high fees but also should have a sufficient budget to manage the expenses of his education. For example, he needs study material such as books, research journals, and a laptop. Moreover, he requires accommodation if he moves from one city to another as well as he should also have money to purchase food.

A student with no job and a disadvantaged background cannot afford these expenses. If he cannot afford these expenditures, he cannot pursue his education and that is the reason our country is facing a deficiency of educated people. Only the people who own resources can afford a university education but people from poor backgrounds cannot even pay their registration dues.

In this context, the government launched a program that aims to help disadvantaged students. In this program a student can get free education, he does not need to pay tuition fees, registration charges, and semester dues. Furthermore, the student can also get accommodation, free daily use commodities, and health care services.

1. Tuition Fee

University fees are skyrocketing day by day and have become out of range for students. However, if a student is enrolled in the NSFAS program, he does not need to pay his tuition fees. Some students ask how to pay their registration and application dues but if you apply for the NSFAS program before applying for an admission, you do not even need to pay the admission application fee.

Students frequently ask if they can apply for NSFAS enrollment after joining the university. Yes, students can apply for enrollment after getting admission in the university and if they fall under the eligibility criteria, they will get funding from NSFAS after application approval.

An enrolled student, whether he is in a public university or private, does not need to pay his fees once he joins the NSFAS. The program is only for undergraduate students who have finished their matric, or studying in the matric, and meet the NSFAS threshold.

2. Accommodation

Accommodation is one of the most important parts of an educational career. Usually, students move from one city to a large metropolitan because the high-standard universities are typically situated in busy cities, such as Cape Town, or Johannesburg. However, they neglect the fact that the high rents of the apartments and hostels are unaffordable for unemployed and disadvantaged students.

If a student is enrolled in the NSFAS program, he does not need to worry about the accommodation because NSFAS provides a student with an apartment. A student can get an apartment in the hostel or a private room, and NSFAS gives him funds to pay the rent. Accommodation is covered under the living allowance of R15,000 yearly funded by NSFAS.

3. Learning Material

Affording learning material including books and research journals is challenging for students. A student can purchase books and notes but research journals, and magazines related to his field can cost him thousands of rands per month. However, if a student is enrolled in an NSFAS program, the scheme is responsible for providing him books, and journals by funding him R5,200 yearly to purchase learning material.

4. Transportation

Another major expenditure that can be challenging for a student is transportation expenditures. Private taxis can cost a student thousands of rand monthly and public transportation proves strenuous for students due to the overcrowded buses and trains during the peak morning and evening hours. Therefore, NSFAS funds a transportation allowance of R7,500 per year to the students who reside 40 km from their institute.

5. Personal Care

Another major expenditure that a student cannot afford due to the surging inflation is the daily commodities. NSFAS gives personal care allowance to the students so they can afford soap, shampoo, biscuits, and laundry detergents, all the daily use commodities a person may need. An enrolled student receives R2,900 yearly as an incidental or personal care allowance.

Education is the basic right of every citizen, we all should have free education but the surging tuition charges of universities have made it not only hard but nearly impossible for a layman to afford university expenditures. However, a student who considers himself disadvantaged can apply for NSFAS.

The assistance program will give him free education, accommodation, transportation, personal care, and study material allowances. We should acknowledge the government’s effort to provide free and fair education and appreciate the consistency of the NSFAS program. I hope this information will help you in the future, thank you.