KLEIN KAROO NEWS - Democratic Liberal Congress (DLC) leader, Cllr Patrick Pillay believes that education is power and prosperity.
“Poverty is no longer a challenge to further one’s studies. Our democracy has provided students with greater opportunities of accessing funding through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to pay for their tertiary education,” he said.
The DLC advises students to make good with the NSFAS opportunities and register with a university or TVET college and apply for the NSFAS funding accordingly.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed created many challenges and disruptions which left us all reeling with uncertainties, doubts and fears. The disruptions in the academic year have created undue stress and concerns by students, who have been calling me for advice regarding the scheme,” he continued.
NSFAS 2021 was officially opened by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande. This year, the NSFAS application cycle will run for a period of four months, starting from 3 August, with the closing date being 30 November 2020.
He further explained that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a bursary scheme that provides financial aid to qualifying students, who need assistance in their studies. The NSFAS provides financial assistance that covers the cost for registration and tuition, and provide allowances for books, food, transport and accommodation in the South African Universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
Applications are available to students from indigent and working-class backgrounds and can be done online via the NSFAS website.
In order to apply for the funding, you’ll need a copy of your ID, together with consent from your parents or guardian to submit their personal information for validation.
Applicants need to fulfil the following criteria before making the application:
- Applicants must be South African citizens,
- all SASSA grant recipients qualify for funding,
- applicants whose combined household income is not more than R350,000 per year,
- person with a disability: combined household income must not be more than R600,000 per year
- and students, who started studying before 2018 whose household income is not more than R122,000 per year.
For more information, visit the official NSFAS website by clicking here.
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