By Charmaine Ndlela
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has announced new funding measures to tackle a major shortfall for the 2025/2026 academic year.
The financial aid scheme and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) have “reprioritised” R13.3 billion from their existing budget to 34,000 students with blocked registrations, as well as R15,000 to second-semester registrations.
According to spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi: “These funds came out of the recoveries we received from loans paid by former students and the money that was paid to institutions for either accommodation or tuition, which was not utilised fully. Institutions had to bring it back to NSFAS, and therefore, we had to ask permission to utilise it for 2025.”
In August 2025, NSFAS announced that it faced a funding shortfall of R10.6 billion for universities and R1.6 billion for technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges. This left students who provided registration data after the March 31 deadline in limbo and prevented some students from registering for the second semester.
According to NSFAS, the deficit was the result of an increasing number of students qualifying for higher education funding; the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which expanded the eligibility criteria; and declining state resources.
Students who were affected by the funding deficit included university students who applied during the TVET cycle, students whose registration confirmations were received after the registration portal had been closed, students who had successful appeals that were unfunded, and second-semester registrations.
“Student accommodation providers who were impacted…will also be in a position to now receive payments for services rendered,” NSFAS said in a press statement.
Housing providers have reported severe financial strain due to NSFAS failing to pay them on time, resulting in students being evicted from their residences or forced to live in unsafe conditions.
According to the Democratic Alliance, responding to the announcement, “In Kimberley alone, more than 500 students from Sol Plaatje University and Northern Cape Urban TVET College are now facing eviction.
Landlords, some unpaid for over a year, say they have lost all trust in the fund and are demanding transparency. Because of these failures, students cannot pay rent or tuition fees and are left in an impossible situation. They are facing evictions, falling behind on studies, and growing increasingly frustrated with NSFAS’s administrative chaos — from a botched system switch to delays in allowances and accommodation payments.”
A 2023 study conducted by Higher Health found that 63% of university students who depend on NSFAS funding reported high levels of financial stress, which negatively impacted their academic performance and mental health.
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