Cape Town – Close to 300 000 financial assistance applications have been approved for the 2017 academic year at South African tertiary institutions.
According to a statement from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), it had approved funding for at least 291 747 students who had applied for financial assistance for this academic year.
Briefing the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training in Parliament on Wednesday, NSFAS Board chairperson, Sizwe Nxasana, said the scheme expected to increase this record pool further by February 17, which is the closing date for financial assistance for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college applications.
Nxasana said the majority of students were already registered at universities, while the registration for TVET colleges was still underway.
"More than 180 944 of these students are at universities, while 110 803 are TVET college students. Of the 180 944 university students, 71 098 are new students, while 109 846 are returning students.
"While the closing date for application for financial assistance at the TVET colleges is February 17, already 15 375 new students and 95 428 of returning students in the TVET colleges have been approved," said Nxasana.
NSFAS management had also acknowledged the delays in communicating the outcome of results of applications to some of the students.
Nxasana said the delays could be attributed to a number of challenges, including the changes in last year's academic calendars at some institutions and a significant number of applications that had been missing supporting documents.
"Overall, 9 976 applications were unsuccessful due to financial ineligibility, as they were categorised within the 'missing middle' category. However, these students may appeal the decision."
African News Agency