Student financial aid applications open next week – Nzimande

One can but wonder about the timing of the announcement by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande that applications for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) will open next week since the process usually starts much earlier.

Sceptics might find it interesting that applications will open on Tuesday, November 2 – just one day after students and prospective students will have had the opportunity to vote in the local government elections.

Nzimande also promised that the late start to the application process will not have a detrimental effect on new students who wish to start their studies at a university or tertiary college next year, or on returning students who will carry on with their studies.

“I would like to assure everybody that this will in no way disadvantage those who seek NSFAS support for their studies,” he says.

Returning students might not be 100% in agreement with Nzimande as they have experience in the workings of the scheme – and of waiting late into the year to receive the financial support that many need to make studying possible.

In a nutshell, a lot of the students from “working class families and the poor” to which Nzimande referred several times during his speech, are totally dependent on the government scheme to study.

For the poor, this includes money to pay the initial registration fee, buy books and stationery, pay for accommodation and buy food from day one in a strange town and a totally new environment.

The application process usually starts in September of the year prior to the relevant academic year. In a normal year, the money from NSFAS might only arrive in July. It is often later.

In the meantime, universities are expected to carry the costs with respect to tuition and even accommodation and food.

Nzimande preferred to focus on the positive.

“The scheme has made a difference to working class and poor students,” he said, quoting numbers that show how it has grown in the few years since it changed from the previous loan-based scheme into one of a ‘grant’ that offers free tertiary education without expecting students to repay the cost.

Maybe the thinking is that graduates will get good jobs and pay more in tax for the rest of their working lives to enable the next generations to study for “free”.

More students, more money

NSFAS has grown fast since former president Jacob Zuma unexpectedly announced free tertiary education for the poor in December 2017.

Nzimande said the scheme has given thousands of students the opportunity to study.

“NSFAS funding has increased from R20 billion in 2018 to R40 billion – even more – in 2021,” said the minister. The actual figure is approximately R42 billion.

The number of students receiving funding has increased sharply, with Nzimande mentioning a figure of more than 752 000 currently receiving NSFAS funding.

The NSFAS 2021 Programme Funding Status Report shows that as at June 2021 the number of students at universities and technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges receiving government funding stood at 623 386.

This comprised 382 982 new applications – basically first-year students – and 240 404 continuing students.

“NSFAS can confirm that it has to date disbursed allowances to a total of 623 386 students as per the data submitted by institutions. This number represents at least 48% of the total number of overall eligible students,” says the report.

TVET colleges less popular

The bulk of the students were enrolled in universities. The numbers show that only a total of around 202 000 first-year and continuing students on the NSFAS programme were enrolled in TVET colleges.

The largest number of NSFAS students were enrolled at the University of South Africa (Unisa), also SA’s largest university by number of students. Nearly 156 000 Unisa students received NSFAS funding at the end of June 2021.

Durban University of Technology was home to 21 321 NSFAS students, University of the Free State had 21 794 and the University of KwaZulu-Natal had 22 843. Among the larger universities, Nelson Mandela University hosted only 15 394 NSFAS students, while students at the University of Stellenbosch seem to prefer to pay their own way with only 3 826 having received taxpayer support by the date of the report.

The report includes an interesting table on how much money every university have received from NSFAS in 2021. Taking into account that some disbursements would have followed after the date of the report,

Unisa again topped the list with more than R1.8 billion of the NSFAS payments going to the institution.

University of the Free State received just more than R1 billion, as did the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Stellenbosch University got only R241 million and the smaller Rhodes University some R197 million.

Meeting the demand

But money is still scarce in government departments – and nearly 700 000 learners are currently sitting matric exams, with many having hopes and dreams of going to university.

About the 2021 academic year, the NSFAS funding report noted: “Despite the many challenges experienced at the start of the 2021 academic year due to the higher demand for NSFAS funding and the need to ensure budget adequacy before finalising the allocations, the Department of Higher Education response has addressed the anticipated shortfall and NSFAS is confident that all students who are deserving of NSFAS funding will be funded.”

Hopefully they all finish their studies within the NSFAS time frame of N+1, referring to government’s ability and willingness to pay for the regular length of the course and one additional year if things do not go as well as anticipated.

More importantly, taxpayers who are footing the bill hope that the graduates find jobs after their studies and start contributing to the economy and the fiscus.