Will NSFAS Still Fund BEd And LLB Qualifications?

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has had rumors swirling, regarding whether or not two qualifications will be still be funded. 

One NSFAS applicant asked during a recent Facebook Live session with the The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) whether it’s true that the financial aid scheme no longer provides funds for Bachelor of Education (BEd) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB).

NSFAS’s representative replied, “No, it is not true”. NSFAS does fund BEd and LLB qualifications for students who meet the requirements.

The NSFAS representative went on to explain that there was a communication at the beginning of last year addressing this issue, which was linked to the qualification codes and has got nothing to do with NSFAS funding BEd and LLB qualifications. 

NSFAS urged institutions to go to the Department of Higher Education and update the qualification codes for these two specific qualifications.

Most of the BEd and LLB qualifications have expired within the Department and institutions have had to renew their licenses for these qualifications, hence there being new codes. This lead to the confusion about whether the courses are still covered by the scheme.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a government-run organisation that is aimed at helping underprivileged qualifying students gain access to enrollment at public universities and TVET Colleges across the country.  

The following requirements must be met in order for students to receive funding from NSFAS: 

• Must be a South African citizen
• All Sassa grant recipients immediately qualify for funding
• Must have a combined household income which is not more than R350 000 per annum
• A person with a disability: Combined household income must not be more than R600 000 per annum
• Students who started studying before 2018 whose household income is not more than R122 000 per annum.

NSFAS funding is available across all 26 of South Africa’s public universities as well as all 50 TVET colleges. They fund a wide variety of degrees and courses.