The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) says the first day of online applications for 2019, are going smoothly without any technical glitches.
“At 10am this morning of the first day, more than 400 new applications have successfully been submitted, and more than 8 000 users have already visited the NSFAS website to learn more about the application step,” NSFAS Administrator Dr Randall Carolissen said.
NSFAS online applications for 2019 opened on Monday and will close on 30 November 2018.
New students and returning students without NSFAS registration should apply online at www.nsfas.org.za immediately and not procrastinate.
The new application process takes only five minutes to complete and requires only a copy of the Identification Document (ID) for the applicant and parents, a payslip (of both parents), if parents earn an income, and a consent form to give the scheme permission to verify income.
Students whose parents are not working are only required to submit a signed consent form.
“Continuing students who are funded by NSFAS this year, will be contacted by NSFAS to sign their agreements online, if they have not done so already. They are not required to reapply as funding will automatically continue in 2019, if they meet the progression rule of 50% pass.
“From 17 September 2018, applicants can also submit their paper applications at the nearest National Youth Development Agency offices across the country, where they will be assisted by a NSFAS official to capture the application,” Carolissen explained.
Carolissen added that public universities and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, will also be capacitated to assist with both online and paper application forms at the Financial Aid Office.
Carolissen said the newly improved system allows each applicant to be considered with great care and enormous attention is given to evaluating every application, and therefore, the first applicant will be the first to know if they are funded or not.
“Each application will be treated equally by the NSFAS funding committee. Complete and submit your materials as soon as possible to ensure full and timely consideration of your application. There are tips and guidelines online and a YouTube channel for step-by-step information.
“You can also track and trace the progress of your application online by a simply login with your cellphone and ID number. The opening of the 2019 applications has always been prioritised and we had to ensure that the Minister is satisfied with our progress on the 2017 and 2018 backlog before opening the window,” Dr Carolissen said.
More than R1.2bln paid to institutions
Carolissen announced that the scheme has successfully paid more than R1.2 billion to institutions and students since Thursday, and today they will continue to pay more.
“We have also sent remittances to every institution to ensure money is allocated to students accordingly without delays. I am happy that this has been welcomed by vice-chancellors, college principals and Student Representative Council (SRC) positive progress towards assisting the students.”
More NSFAS officials will be deployed to institutions this week to support the application process and to continue assisting the students.
Each applicant should have a working contact number that NSFAS will use to communicate throughout the process of evaluation and funding decision.
Should this number change, it must be updated online immediately or via the Toll-Free number 08000 67327.
A consent form is compulsory for every applicant. Without this, NSFAS may not verify income as declared by the applicant and thus may not conclude the funding decision.
No one is restricted from applying, however, Carolissen emphasised that funding will only be disbursed to those who have confirmed offers/secured admission to study in 2019.