More than 1 million tertiary education students, including more than 600 000 first-time entrants, will be funded for the 2026 academic year. This was confirmed by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) this week. Nsfas said it had received 893 847 applications, of which 609 403 qualified for financial aid.
According to Nsfas, 49 538 applications were rejected for financial aid, while 218 043 applicants had incomplete applications, awaiting documents. There were 16 863 withdrawn and cancelled applications. Nsfas said that those with missing documentation must submit it within 30 days of receiving their notices.
“First-time entering students who meet the financial eligibility criteria may still require confirmation of a valid acceptance from an institution of higher learning. In most cases, this confirmation will only be available once matric results are released,” said Nsfas. There are just eight days left before Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gawarube announces the 2025 matric cohort’s National Senior Certificate (NSC) results on 12 January 2026.
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Nsfas said 416 688 continuing students previously funded students met the academic progression criteria, while 129 264 students were discontinued from being funded because they failed to meet the criteria. The figures only represent university students, as TVET results are released on 13 January 2026. Rejected students, whether first-time entrants or continuing students, have the right to appeal the Nsfas decision.
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