For the 2022 TVET College bursaries, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has projected a 10% growth in student numbers across all TVET academic cycles to approximately 395 000 students.
Therefore, NSFAS has made provisional funding for 380 000 students. Thus far, the scheme has received registration data for nearly 200 000 students.
In May, NSFAS decided to deploy its staff to help TVET Colleges submit registration data according to bursary requirements. This was done to close the gap and to better understand the issues faced at TVET Colleges.
Through this intervention, there was an improvement in data quality submitted by the colleges, however, in the long run, NSFAS would not be able to sustain the level of support provided due to its limited capacity.
According to the scheme, TVET college staff need to be provided with the skills needed for NSFAS processes. To ensure this takes place, NSFAS has committed to assist colleges by contributing R500 000 per college in the short-term period to appoint financial aid officers.
Student allowances have been affected by the issue of multiple registration statuses and students following incorrect academic pathways. Incorrect pathways include registering for non-aligned qualifications or qualifications which are being phased out.
In order to address the issue of multiple registration statuses, students are urged to deregister at institutions that they are no longer attending and submit evidence to NSFAS so that their funds can be released to the proper institution.
4 287 students have not been processed for NSFAS payments due to these exceptions, however, systems are being implemented to address the issues. A reconciliation and data sharing exercise has begun between NSFAS and institutions to resolve these issues.
