NSFAS approves over 600,000 students for 2026, warns of form submission errors

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) said it had made significant progress towards approving as many higher education students as possible.

Over 600,000 students have been approved for funding for the 2026 academic year, with more than 85,000 in the process of verification.

The scheme has also rejected 116,000 applicants.

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NSFAS is not taking any new applications for the current academic year but is dealing with the administration relating to applications already made.

Spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said the scheme was still waiting for outstanding documentation from some applicants.

"At the moment NSFAS is still taking consent forms and declaration forms. However, the challenge is students are not filling in these forms correctly. All areas that are highlighted in the form must be filled because they are important for NSFAS to process the application," Mnisi said.