2025 bursary applications for funding from the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) closed on 31 October, having been open for five months since opening on 3 June 2024. ISFAP revealed that they saw over 70 000 applications come in for the 2025 academic year.
ISFAP provides bursaries to missing middle students for both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. These students are students who won't qualify for NSFAS as they exceed the annual household income threshold but aren't able to afford their fees without assistance.
ISFAP said:
Over 70,000 students have applied for the ISFAP bursary!Thank you to everyone who submitted their applications. Stay tuned for updates on your application status!
The organisation revealed that for 2025, they received 60 016 undergraduate funding applications and 10 105 postgraduate funding applications bringing the total number of applications received to 70 121.
2025 will see ISFAP offer both undergraduate and postgraduate funding to students at all 26 public universities in South Africa. All courses funded by ISFAP are those which are viewed as scarce skills. "ISFAP is driven by occupation in high demand", explains Sifanele Biyela, Corporate Partnership and Operations Manager at ISFAP.
What ISFAP Funding Covers
The ISFAP funding structure has tuition built into it, accommodation, living allowances, textbooks and laptops.
So how we supply all these is based on the budgets, the funding available from our donors, as well as the caps which we apply to the different pockets that we make available to the student.
They also provide wraparound support that they "make available to the students where they're able to get social skills, they're able to get study assistance, we try and support the students on a more well-rounded structure".
"You are supported not just financially, where your mental health matter, where if you need guidance in terms of tutoring and mentoring, there's that space."
