The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has confirmed that it will start processing payments to institutions.
In a short statement issued on Tuesday, NSFAS spokesperson Kagisho Mamabolo said it has received the first tranche of is budgetary allocation for the first quarter of the financial year.
Mamabolo was responding to articles published over the weekend, regarding the receipt of its funding allocation from National Treasury.
Mamabolo said they will start processing payments to institutions and paying student allowances from Friday, April 8.
“Official communication has been sent to all institutions on the allowance payment process. The institutions that have complied with the 2022 approved NSFAS Eligibility Criteria and Conditions for Financial Aid will receive payment from NSFAS,” he said.
The communique from NSFAS further requests following the funding rules set out in the NSFAS Eligibility Criteria and Conditions for Financial Aid, when disbursing funding to students.
According to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the total number of female students who received NSFAS bursaries in 2020 increased by 30.6%, from 360 344 in 2018 to 470 696 female students funded in 2020.
The DHET said that in the 2020 academic year, NSFAS funded 1 421 university students with disabilities, compared to 1 921 students in the prior year, a decrease of 26%.
IOL