One-time applications for currently-funded students

South Africa’s student funding agency, the National Student Finance Assistance Scheme, has called on currently funded students not to reapply should they be studying in 2018.

The agency, which introduced its student-centred model last year, aims to made Nsfas application process easier for students, without having queue or submit applications or supporting documents.

It says that only first-time applications and students who have not received Nsfas funding in 2017 should apply.

It confirms in its notice that once a student has received funding for his/her studies, the student is funded for the duration of his/her course.

In his budget vote speech this year, Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande said 194,353 university students have thus far been supported in the 2017 academic year; 78,413 of these were to first-time students.

The remaining 116,000 were returning students.

A further 123,332 TVET college students also received support.

Since its inception as the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa(TEFSA) in 1991, NSFAS has awarded about R72 billion in loans and bursaries.