SOUTH AFRICA — The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has successfully disbursed R222.7 million in Funza Lushaka bursaries to six higher education institutions, a milestone confirmed by Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Yusuf Cassim. The payment is designated to benefit 2,927 students currently pursuing teaching qualifications across the country. During a Thursday […]
SOUTH AFRICA — The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has successfully disbursed R222.7 million in Funza Lushaka bursaries to six higher education institutions, a milestone confirmed by Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Yusuf Cassim. The payment is designated to benefit 2,927 students currently pursuing teaching qualifications across the country.
During a Thursday meeting in Cape Town with senior NSFAS officials and the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme team, Deputy Minister Cassim verified the exact disbursement figure of R222,688,894. The funds were allocated to the Central University of Technology, North-West University, University of Fort Hare, University of Limpopo, University of Pretoria, and the University of South Africa.
The administrative responsibility now shifts to these institutions, which are tasked with processing and distributing the respective living allowances directly to the students. Emphasizing the urgency of the matter, Deputy Minister Cassim stated, “These payments must now reach students without delay so they can focus on their studies and not have to worry about outstanding allowances that have been pending for months. I appreciate the work being done by the NSFAS and the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme teams to expedite this process.”
Following this directive, Deputy Minister Cassim has urged NSFAS to formally correspond with the institutions to establish a clear, confirmed timeline for when all beneficiaries will receive their funds.
The Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme operates as a multi-year financial support initiative funded by the Department of Basic Education to assist students pursuing teaching qualifications. NSFAS serves as the designated disbursement agency, transferring the bursary funds to participating universities. For the current academic year, a total of 23 universities have received a collective allocation of R1.3 billion under the programme, which comprehensively covers tuition, accommodation, meals, learning materials, and living allowances.
Despite the recent disbursement, the engagement highlighted ongoing challenges regarding outstanding claims. NSFAS officials noted that a significant number of claims from institutions remain pending. The standard verification and payment process requires approximately four weeks to ensure all claims are valid. The Ministry has stressed that universities must submit their claims promptly to prevent unnecessary delays in student allowances, a priority following numerous enquiries from beneficiaries regarding delayed payments.
Looking ahead, claims totaling R295,988,585 for 3,095 students were uploaded in August and are currently queued for processing, with payments scheduled for distribution in September through standard operational channels. Furthermore, the programme currently holds more than half a billion rand in unclaimed funds. Institutions have been issued a strict deadline of 13 September to submit these outstanding claims to ensure payment distribution in October.
To guarantee uninterrupted support, Deputy Minister Cassim has directed NSFAS to contact all institutions with pending claims. This correspondence must secure confirmation that Funza Lushaka recipients will receive their allowances without interruption and verify that the institutions will meet the upcoming submission deadline.
To address the root causes of these administrative bottlenecks, NSFAS has proposed a joint stakeholder workshop scheduled for November 2026, ahead of the next academic year. This session will focus on resolving structural challenges by eliminating manual processes through automation, establishing robust communication channels with students, and improving overall alignment and payment timelines.
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