• NSFAS has announced that nearly 1 million students have been granted funding for their tertiary studies.
• To check your NSFAS status online, head to the NSFAS portal or dial *120*67327# and follow the prompts.
• If your application was unsuccessful, you can appeal through the NSFAS portal.

According to a statement published today by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), a total of 941 491 applicants have been granted approval and will receive funding for their studies pending registration to a public university or TVET college.

Applicants would have been able to see their results as of 6th February 2023 whether they have been approved or not.

The scheme received 1 666 039 applicants on its online portal as of midnight 31st January 2023. NSFAS says that 317 335 applicants were unsuccessful due to not meeting the NSFAS funding requirements.

How to check your NSFAS application status online

For those looking to check their application status, first head to the NSFAS online portal found here.

Alternatively, NSFAS has also opened a WhatsApp and a USSD platform for applicants to gain more information.

• For the WhatsApp portal, start a new chat with the number +27 78 519 8006,
• For the USSD, dial *120*67327# and follow the onscreen prompts.

As of right now, the WhatsApp portal doesn’t seem to be working. We tried it last month with similar results, so applicants are urged to use the USSD platform instead which is very much operational as of the time of writing.

The funding body has detailed the two options applicants will receive when they check their status:

• “Application approved”, which means your funding has been processed according to NSFAS criteria and you are provisionally funded pending registration at a public institution or TVET college. With this status, you may now go and register,
• “Application unsuccessful”, which means that your NSFAS funding has been processed, but you do not meet one or more of the requirements to receive funding.

If your application has been unsuccessful, NSFAS allows you to appeal. Simply head to your NSFAS account on the portal and click on the “Appeal” tab. The scheme says that the appeal and supporting documents must be submitted within 30 days of receiving the application results.

At this date, 11 239 appeals have been received by NSFAS. If you have tried to appeal and were still unsuccessful, fret not, check out this list for bursaries that are still open in South Africa.

[Image – NSFAS]