Unfunded and unseen – defunding crisis drowns SA students

By Morongwa Masemola and Okuhle Ngubane

For over 800 000 students, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is not just a bursary. It is a lifeline towards employment and social mobility – a way out of poverty. A NSFAS allowance supports tuition, accommodation, transport and learning materials for students come from households earning R350 000 a year or less. It has opened doors to higher education that were previously closed for hundreds of thousands of young people.

Lately, that lifeline has begun to feel increasingly shaky. In 2024, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme received 1 936 330 funding applications, with just over 1.24 million provisionally approved. For many students, however, that approval proved temporary. Thousands were later declined due to low matric marks or defunded after the academic year had already begun, often for administrative or eligibility reasons.

The strain is rooted in deepening financial pressure. NSFAS suffered a R14 billion shortfall in 2025 alongside warnings that as many as 100 000 eligible students could be left unfunded in 2026.

In 2025, some students were cut off mid-semester, even during tests and examinations. Others were instructed to repay allowances already spent on rent and food, despite having no alternative source of income.

Some students reluctantly return home – often hundreds of kilometres away – while others make a plan, sometimes with help from relatives and friends. Others aren’t as lucky.

“I cannot pay the fees as I come from an underprivileged background, and I was depending on NSFAS for financial support,” one defunded NSFAS student told us. The student, who is from Venda in Limpopo is attending a university in the Eastern Cape.

Part of the problem, students say, is the strict NSFAS N+ rule. The rule caps how long a student may be funded to the official length of a qualification (normally three years) plus one extra year of study. Anyone who takes too long to finish, risks losing support.

Administrative glitches, duplicate registrations and slow appeal systems have added another layer of chaos.

First-year student Rolivhuwa Muedi thought she had escaped that fate. First in her family to attend university, she passed matric with three distinctions and started a BA in Media, Communication and Culture at Nelson Mandela University.

Then the email came.

“I was told that I am expected to pay back the allowance money that was given to me from February to April,” she explained. With her mother unemployed, there is no back-up plan. Her biggest worry is no longer passing exams – it is where her next meal will come from.

“NSFAS has made me lose hope of having a better future for myself and my family,” she said.

A fellow students had a similar shock. She applied late for NSFAS in January and received allowances from February to April. Then the money stopped.

The university’s financial aid office later told her her application had been loaded under the wrong stream, as if she were a TVET college student. She was defunded and told to pay back the months of allowances she had already used to survive.

“I have emailed NSFAS, but I have received no response,” she said. She survived the 2025 year on support from friends but without funding, she has no access to her results.

Unseen ‘admin traps’

For some students, the problem started long before they arrived on campus. Walter Sisulu University law student Sabelo Mkhize applied to several universities to keep his options open. He chose to study law at Walter Sisulu University but had initially registered for a diploma at the University of Johannesburg.

“I immediately tried to deregister from UJ,” Sabelo recalled, but UJ only processed his request months later. By then, NSFAS systems had flagged him for duplicate registration and cancelled his funding. He now owes more than R20 000 for a course he never attended, and his law degree is suddenly at risk.

Housing insecurity is another growing concern as landlords who are paid directly by NSFAS have no choice but to evict students who cannot pay rent, leaving some stranded with no way to return home.

For Tshwane University of Technology Public Affairs student, Ontsheketse Mothekge, the crisis hit after he thought he was safe. His NSFAS appeal was approved, and his allowances were paid until April. Then the money stopped again with no warning.

“I will never forget the year 2025… it has been the toughest year of my life,” he said. He relied on fellow students for basics like food and toiletries, and when that ran out, he said that he started begging for leftovers and even searching dustbins in Pretoria’s CBD.

“I always dreamed of helping the homeless, and I never imagined I’d be in their shoes.”

Studying on empty

What happens to academic performance when students are hungry, stressed and constantly checking their funding status instead of revising?

“I was happy and excited at the same time, but all that would soon change, as the challenge of not having funding sank in,” said first-year Nelson Mandela University student Sisekelo Mvula. He relied on food parcels from the university to get through the month.

“The parcels would barely last me a whole month,” he adds.

At Nelson Mandela University, leadership mentor Yanga Lusasa, who runs the Ebuhlanti: The Kraal programme for young men across Mandela University residences, sees the emotional cost first-hand. Through workshops and group sessions which Lusasa leads, students share their struggles and look to one another, as well as guest speakers, for inspiration.

“A lot of students have had mental breakdowns due to not having funds; students push themselves even harder, which can be very unhealthy,” says Lusasa.

“I try not to let my funding situation affect me, especially when it comes to focusing on my academics. I try to stay up to date with all my submissions and classes,” say BA Psychology student Ndivho Mulaudzi. For her and many others, staying enrolled feels like a full-time fight.

Dropping out would be the easier option, but for most it is not even on the table. “I haven’t thought about dropping out, I have worked too hard and so I cannot quit now,” she says.

Protests and pressure

Student Representative Councils across the country have been raising the alarm about defunding, delayed payments and the N+ rule. In 2023, SRC leaders marched to NSFAS head office in Cape Town, warning that poor admin and budget cuts were trampling the dreams of working-class students.

Nationally, the South African Students Federation (SASF) has promised to keep pushing NSFAS and the Department of Higher Education for transparency, faster appeals and fairer rules.

“We understand the importance of strong leadership and representation, and we are taking proactive steps to strengthen our organisation,” the federation said in a statement. “We are dedicated to ensuring that your voice is heard and your concerns are addressed.”

“I want to change everything back at home, I want to be the first person in the family to get a degree, so I don’t mind the struggles for now”, says Mphikelele Dladla. That kind of resilience is powerful – but it should not be a survival requirement just to finish a degree.

For now, students like Rolivhuwa, Morongwa, Sabelo, Ontsheketse, Ndivho and Mphikelele are trying to study on empty stomachs while refreshing their NSFAS portals. Until the funding system is stabilised and properly managed, the risk is clear: South Africa will keep losing bright young people, not because they failed their courses, but because the money ran out.

What defunded students can do

NSFAS guidelines say students who lose funding should receive official communication and have the right to appeal within a set period, especially where there are admin errors, income changes or duplicate records.

On the ground, that means:

• Immediately visiting the university financial aid office to confirm the reason for defunding and get it in writing
• Submitting an NSFAS appeal with supporting documents as soon as possible
• Asking the SRC or faculty structures for help with appeals and landlord negotiations
• Registering with campus counselling and wellness services for mental health support
• Applying for emergency food parcels, hardship funds, part-time tutoring or marking work where available