{"id":36666,"date":"2026-03-05T18:19:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/?p=36666"},"modified":"2026-03-05T18:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:19:28","slug":"nsfas-urges-students-to-appeal-unsuccessful-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/2026\/03\/05\/nsfas-urges-students-to-appeal-unsuccessful-applications\/","title":{"rendered":"NSFAS urges students to appeal unsuccessful applications"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo credit: GCIS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) CEO, Wassim Carrim, says students who do not meet academic progression requirements or financial eligibility criteria may lodge an appeal with the scheme.<\/p>\n

Carrim provided the update during a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday. He says appeals may be granted on grounds such as medical conditions, traumatic events, or other circumstances that may have affected a student\u2019s ability to complete their academic qualification.<\/p>\n

The briefing comes as scores of students across the country remain stranded at institutions due to funding delays.<\/p>\n

The financial aid scheme says, to date, it has handled more than 101,000 appeals.<\/p>\n

NSFAS says it has processed more than 101,000 appeals to date. Of these, 22,000 have been approved, 18,000 rejected, while 44,000 were closed, deleted, or withdrawn.<\/p>\n

Carrim urged students to submit the required documentation on time when lodging an appeal.<\/p>\n\t

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    \n\t\t\tNSFAS urges students to appeal unsuccessful applications<\/span>\n\t\t\tNonhlanhla Harris<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\n\t\n

    Carrim also revealed that more than 692,000 first-time entering students at universities and TVET colleges have been approved for funding for the 2026 academic year.<\/p>\n

    The financial aid scheme has also urged students and accommodation providers to submit their accommodation applications before March 13, when disbursements are set to commence.<\/p>\n

    Carrim says a significant number of eligible students have not yet completed their accommodation application processes, warning that this could lead to delays or complications in accommodation allocation.<\/p>\n

    The CEO has also encouraged applicants to submit the required documents and seek assistance through the scheme\u2019s website if needed.<\/p>\n

    He further responded to accommodation challenges affecting students at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).<\/p>\n

    “We engaged with CPUT and asked them if they need any support. Subsequent to that, the office of the institution’s vice chancellor reached out to me and indicated that they need support in placing about 150 students which NSFAS has assisted with. Yesterday when I became aware that there were still issues at CPUT I again reached out and CPUT, in their perspective, indicated that they have done all they can to house students,” Carrim said.<\/p>\n

    Carrim says the first accommodation disbursements will cover February and March.<\/p>\n

    He added that NSFAS has paid nearly R400 million to clear historical accommodation debt for 2024 and 2025, and encouraged accommodation providers with valid outstanding claims to approach the scheme for assistance.<\/p>\n

    NSFAS says it has disbursed more than R7 billion to qualifying students for 2026.<\/p>\n

    Carrim says the scheme understands that many students who rely on NSFAS support often become anxious at the start of the academic year, but gave the assurance that efforts are being made to ensure the timely and efficient disbursement of funds.<\/p>\n

    He says the financial aid scheme has already made two major upfront disbursements to universities for student allowances and accommodation.<\/p>\n

    Carrim also revealed that more than R6.4 billion, split over two payments, has been allocated to universities to ensure the necessary support and a smooth start to this academic year.<\/p>\n

    He added that NSFAS disbursements to TVET colleges have also been robust and targeted.<\/p>\n\t

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      \n\t\t\tNSFAS urges students to appeal unsuccessful applications<\/span>\n\t\t\tNonhlanhla Harris<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\n\t\n

      The financial aid scheme says it remains committed to removing financial barriers and creating a conducive environment for academic success for students in need.<\/p>\n

      Written by: Odirile Rabalao<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) CEO, Wassim Carrim, says students who do not meet academic progression requirements or financial eligibility criteria may lodge an appeal with the scheme. Carrim provided the update during a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday. He says appeals may be granted on grounds such ...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":36669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2243,2897,2898,1913,1091,2899,2180],"class_list":["post-36666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-2026-academic-year","tag-accommodation-issues","tag-appeal-process","tag-nsfas","tag-student-accommodation","tag-tvet-colleges","tag-university"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-05-at-17.20.38-1-scaled.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36666"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36670,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36666\/revisions\/36670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yfm.co.za\/devworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}