How Much Must Your Parents Earn To Qualify For NSFAS

How much must your parents earn to qualify for NSFAS is a question you would want to know if you are a parent or a student who wants to enjoy the benefits that comes with being signed on to the funding scheme.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme popularly known as the NSFAS is a South African government organization that helps eligible students from poor homes, low income families and people with disability to further their education in the public universities or the TVET which is Technical and Vocational Education, and Training. The grants are given in the form of scholarships and loans.

To apply for the NSFAS , you would have to go through certain procedures, fill out some documents and submit them. Every student that enjoys the NSFAS privilege also gets the chance to enjoy a monthly allowance. The allowance covers the accommodation, transport,living allowance ,book allowance and personal care allowance. The NSFAS is fully funded by the South African Government.

It also receives support from other government agencies, philanthropic organizations and donations. Even though this funding is available for all citizens of South African and permanent residents, applicants must also meet a particular financial and academic standard and that is the reason for this writeup.

In this article, we are going to take a good look into how much a parent has to earn if they want to apply to the scheme.

How Much Must Your Parents Earn To Qualify The NSFAS

As said earlier, even though all citizens of South Africa have the opportunity to enjoy this privilege, not everyone is qualified for that. There must be some financial and academic standard you must meet in order to enjoy the NSFAS privileges.

Some of the criteria you must also meet to enjoy this privilege also includes the amount of money your parents’ or guardians’ earn. Their annual annual household income must reach a specific limit. Usually, if your household income falls in between R350,001 and R600,000 and you are not disabled in any way, you may be qualified for the NSFAS Missing Middle Loan Scheme which provides financial assistance in the form of a loan instead of a full scholarship.

With standard applicants, the combined annual household income should not be more than R350,000. Also, the NSFAS funding is only available to South African citizens who have been accepted or who have enrolled in a public university or TVET college. Any student applying must meet a specific academic requirement such as having passed Grade 12 for university funding or Grades 9 to 12 for TVET. The NSFAS funding automatically qualifies orphans, provided you meet the academic and institution requirements. In this regard, if you are a parent and you want to apply for your ward, you have to first make sure that you meet the financial requirements after which you will prepare all the other documents of your ward before starting the application process. Always be mindful that your ward has to be enrolled in a public university or a TVET college.

How Does NSFAS Check Household Income?

The NSFAS checks household income with the combination of specific methods to verify that the student applying can meet the income requirements. Below is how it is done.

Supporting documents: In this process, you must upload documents such as ;

– copies of your parents, spouse’s or guardians ID documents. The applicant should make sure that these documents are in the right format. Also, make the documents are clear enough to avoid delays and mistakes

Proof of income: With this, applicants must show a proof of income such as an employment letter, pension slip, recent payslips, or affidavits for an informal or unemployed person. A SARS document or a bank statement.

Cross-checking with SARS: The NSFAS works with the South African Revenue service which is SAR in short to verify income information against official tax records. Of a parent or a guardian has registered with SARS, THE NSFAS can directly confirm their declared

Verification against government: Also the NSFAS uses other government databases like SASA, Home Affairs, and the Education Department to validate the applicant’s household composition.

Affidavits in a special way: For self-employed or unemployed, guardians or parents , NSFAS might accept an affidavit explaining the income situation. But they will still verify this information where possible,

The goal is to make sure the applicants are honest so that the funding goes to the less income family and to those who really need it.

Who Doesn’t Qualify For The NSFAS

As an NSFAS applicant , there are some criteria you must meet in order to receive the funding. If you do not meet the standard, you won’t qualify. Below are the main reasons a student might be declined.

1.Non-South African Citizen or a Permanent Residence: The NSFAS funding is specifically for South African Citizens and permanent residents.

International Students are not allowed to have this financial aid.

2. Enrolled at a private institution or Unaccredited Programs; The NSFAS funding is only available for students that enroll in public universities or TVET colleges in the country. Private institutions or programs that are not recognized by the Department Of Higher Education and Training are not qualified.

3.Students at private institutions; The NFAS is mainly for the public universities and the TVET colleges. So private institutions and universities are not entitled to this funding. So for a student to receive funding, they should make sure that they have enrolled in a public university.

4. Students with alternative funding; If you are a student and you have secured a scholarship or funding from another institution or bursaries to cover full cost of study and allowance,you do not qualify for NSFAS.

5. Postgraduate students; Even though the NSFAS can provide scholarships and loans for postgraduates students, the bursary scheme is mainly for undergraduate students.

How To Write An Annual Gross Income On NSFAS Application

First and foremost, an annual gross is the total amount a worker earns or the regular payment a worker receives a year before taxes, insurance and other benefits are deducted fom it. The total gross includes basic salary, allowances, bonuses, overtime pay and other payment from additional responsibilities or work conditions. Below are the steps involved in writing an annual gross income on your NSFAS.

1.Understand what Annual Gross is : The total income a person earns yearly before deductions like taxes, insurance, pension etc are deducted is what is known as annual gross.

2. Determine Household Income: Put together all the gross income of all household members that contributes financially . For example the parent,spouse or guardian.

3. Write the total in RAND; Write everything in a whole number and do not include cents and symbols like R in the application unless stated otherwise.

4.Supporting Document; When writing annual gross income, adding supporting documents is a very necessary step. Example of the supporting documents are bank statements, Sworn

affidavits and payslip.

How Much Should A Person Earn To Qualify For NSFAS

To qualify for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme which is popularly none as the NSFAS, there are spicific criteria you should fit in before the scholarship or loan will be granted to you.

First and foremost, the person must be a South African or a permanent residence in order to qualify for NSFAS. Also, the person must be enrolled at a public university or TVET college in South Africa. The student must also meet specific academic requirements made by the institution.

A student’s household annual income which includes the income of anyone who contributes in the house ethier a parent,spouse or guardian should be between R 350,001 and R 600 000 before a person can be qualified for NSFAS.

To add to it,students who are disabled with their household income not more than R 600,000 are also automatically qualified.

If you are a Recipient of the South African Social Security Agency grant which is also known as the SASSA , you are also automatically qualified for the funding .

Conclusion

To conclude on everything said above , The NSFAS which is fully known as The National Students Financial Aid Scheme is an important initiative which is provided to support students from poor or low and middle income households. It ensures that excellent and brilliant students can have access to a higher level of education without the worry of high cost of tuition and living expenses. To apply for the NSFAS , you would have to go through certain procedures, fill out some documents and submit them. Every student that enjoys the NSFAS privilege also gets the chance to enjoy a monthly allowance. The allowance covers the accommodation, transport,living allowance ,book allowance and personal care allowance. The NSFAS is fully funded by the South African Government.

FAQs ( Frequent Questions And Answers)

What Is The Maximum Income to Qualify For NSFAS

If you are a student applying for NSFAS, there are requirements that should be met by you, first of all, you have to be a South African native either enrolled in a TVET college or a private university. That aside, you have to make sure your parents earn a particular amount of income annually. That maximum income must be between R 350, 001 and R 600, 000.

What Is The Number Of Students NSFAS Funds?

As of 2023, the NSFAS had funded close to 1.3 students in South Africa. These students include those in Public universities and those in TVET colleges. In 2024, the NSFAS was projected to have funded 1.1 million students in that particular academic year. Since 2013, the NSFAS has funded over 2 million students in South Africa.

Do You Pay Back The NSFAS Money?

The answer is YES. Students who are granted the NSFAS loans are made to pay back the money after school. They only pay when they get employed after graduation. So basically, the payment of the loans are done mainly by graduates with jobs. That notwithstanding, 40% of this loan payment can be converted into bursary.

How Many Beneficiaries Does NSFAS Have?

Given the number of students who go through the scheme every year, we can conclude that NSFAS has lots and lots of beneficiaries. These beneficiaries are people or students who applied under the scheme, qualified and now enjoy the benefits that come with the scheme in the form of allowances that are issued out every month. In 2024, the NSFAS was projected to have funded 1.1 million students in that particular academic year. Since 2013, the NSFAS has funded over 2 million students in South Africa. NSFAS had funded close to 1.3 students in South Africa. These students include those in Public universities and those in TVET colleges.

What Is NSFAS?

The NSFAS stands for National Students Financial Aid Scheme. This funding is mainly for students who are willing to pursue higher education but do not have the financial capabilities to do so. The funding comes in the form of allowances that is released every month, from February to November.