Bursary scheme applicants who are awaiting the results of their appeals have been left in suspense following the release of the funding list.
A financial assistance program acknowledged the concerns of applicants who had their initial applications rejected and contacted the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) about their appeal status.
Their appeals are currently being reassessed by NSFAS, and the outcomes are not yet final.
There are pending appeals that are being reassessed, and some statuses are not final and can change
NSFAS Confirms Your Appeals
The scheme advised applicants to monitor the portal regularly for updates. There is a possibility of being funded if the rejected status changes. The rejected status, on the other hand, indicates that the applicant won’t receive funding if it remains.
Bursary applications are typically rejected by NSFAS because applicants do not meet the funding criteria. It is not possible for students who have exceeded N+2 or N+3 to appeal their unsuccessful applications.
Students are given N+1 years to complete their degree under the current N+1 rule. As a general rule, “N” refers to the minimum number of years required to complete a qualification, while “+1” refers to an additional year needed.
However, certain conditions must be met in order for an appeal to be successful. After receiving a rejection decision from NSFAS, applicants usually have 30 days to appeal the decision.
NSFAS will consider the following reasons if you appeal:
- Not meeting academic performance standards
- Change in financial circumstances
- Loss of bursary sponsor
- There was an error in the submission of academic results, which resulted in non-renewal of funding
NSFAS also highlighted that a significant number of students who lodged appeals did not submit all required supporting documents. Students should actively participate in the appeals process by submitting the correct documents as requested.
The NSFAS also urged tertiary institutions to make sure that students submit the necessary supporting documents.
