Daily Dispatch

Thousands of E Cape students receive funding

- By ZINE GEORGE

MORE than 24 700 students studying at Eastern Cape universiti­es have been granted funding, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme announced this week.

Spokesman Kagiso Mamabolo said: “We have approved more than 24 791 returning students who are studying in the Eastern Cape institutio­ns and the number will continue [rising].”

The announceme­nt comes soon after University of South Africa’s (Unisa) chief executive Professor Ahmed Bawa confirmed that the university had received official confirmati­on from NSFAS that “it is likely that some 235 000 students will receive NSFAS grants this year.

“This is significan­tly higher than the 176 000 students funded in 2016,” Bawa said.

Bawa said according to a commitment NSFAS made for 2017, all first-entry students who applied for financial aid and who come from quintiles 1, 2, and 3 schools and where family income was dependent on a South African Security Services Agency (Sassa) grant, would qualify for financial aid.

Mamabolo said the list of successful NSFAS students showed that “there are 5 494 first-year students for Eastern Cape institutio­ns”.

Bawa said they had also received confirmati­on that the scheme sent out 46 000 text messages last Friday informing first-year students countrywid­e that they would receive funding this year.

“This is an important achievemen­t taking into account the backlogs that have developed at NSFAS,” said Bawa.

NSFAS will support all students who received financial aid in 2016; passed 50% of modules and had signed NSFAS applicatio­n loan agreement forms. — zineg@dispatch.co.za

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