The National Student Financial Aid Scheme received a record 893 487 applications for the 2026 academic year
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) received a record 893 487 applications for the 2026 academic year, with just above 66% submitted by female students.
Acting chairperson Mugwena Maluleke said the volume of applications was “a testament to the scale and importance” of the funding scheme, which provides financial aid to needy undergraduate students to help pay for the cost of their tertiary education after finishing high school.
Of the total applications, 593 981 were submitted by women, accounting for 66.4%, while 299 866 applications, or about 33%, came from male applicants. This reflected an “ongoing trend of strong female participation in tertiary education”, Maluleke said.
He reaffirmed NSFAS’s commitment to expanding access to higher education, saying the fund had announced comprehensive preparations for the 2026 academic year, with a focus on disbursement and registration support.
NSFAS had processed all 2026 funding applications prior to the start of the academic year, Maluleke said. Some 520 545 applications were submitted by South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) beneficiaries, while 2 551 applications came from students living with disabilities.
To date, 690 653 applications have been approved, while 21 843 remain incomplete because of outstanding documents. About 16 000 applications were cancelled and 49 538 were rejected “after a rigorous review process”.
First-time entering students accounted for 766 232 applications, with 125 157 submitted by senior students.
Maluleke said all universities were required to have submitted their 2025 academic results by 15 December and “in their majority had made their deadline”. This was necessary for the financial aid scheme to verify academic eligibility before disbursing funding.
Universities are also required to submit 2026 admission lists to enable NSFAS to validate applications and release funds.
Maluleke said 2026 allowance disbursements and accommodation payments would be made directly to accredited service providers.
“NSFAS is implementing a transitional framework designed to facilitate the shift towards a more centralised, transparent and students focused accommodation system,” he said.
Higher education institutions and private accommodation providers will be required to adopt the framework.
“As part of this transition all accommodation dates including opening, closing, move in and move out periods will be intensively aligned with the academic calendar to prevent students from being stranded at any point in the academic year,” Maluleke said.
NSFAS is upgrading its accommodation portal to enable students to apply for accommodation, track their application status, accept offers and log maintenance issues all within one platform.
On 1 February 2026 the fund will issue an upfront payment covering the full book allowance, one month of meals, accommodation, personal care and travel allowances for qualifying students, Maluleke said.
It will also deploy service administrators for student support to all 26 universities and 50 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges from 13 January to 31 March.
“To support effective cash flow at the commencement of 2026 academic year we will advance tuition upfront payments to the TVET colleges on 31 January 2026,” Maluleke said. The upfront payment would amount to 20% of total annual tuition.
He said the appeals process would remain open until 14 January, with outcomes to be communicated by 16 February.