The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is facing an estimated R15 billion shortfall in funding for students at universities and TVET colleges, following a 10% reduction in allocations from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, according to statements by Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela.

Reduced Allocations And Increasing Demand

On 29 May 2025, the DHET officially announced a 10% decrease in student funding allocations, citing budgetary constraints. This reduction has coincided with rising numbers of applicants qualifying for NSFAS assistance across the sector, according to the department’s published annual plans. Minister Manamela, speaking on 12 August 2026, described the R15 billion gap as unprecedented, with the strain felt at both universities and TVET institutions. NSFAS has attempted to mitigate the impact by using recovered historical debts to supplement its budget since 2022, a measure detailed in the organisation’s official documents.

Calls For Structural Reform And Sustainable Solutions

Minister Manamela cautioned that temporary measures will not address the long-term sustainability challenges facing student funding. “Qualifying students cannot simply be abandoned because a long-term funding problem remains unresolved; but neither can government resolve a structural problem through repeated emergency interventions,” Manamela stated during a recent briefing. He further noted, “The Department’s preliminary assessment is that the Plan remains stronger at the level of strategic commitment than at the implementation level. It still requires clearer quantitative baselines, costed interventions, measurable milestones and stronger evidence against which progress can be assessed.”

With student protests and financial pressure mounting at campuses nationwide, the structural gap in public funding has national implications for access and transformation in the higher education sector, particularly for working-class and marginalised communities historically supported by NSFAS. The agency is due to present revised funding mechanisms to Parliament on 17 September 2025.

Further developments are expected as government and NSFAS seek to clarify the path forward in addressing the persistent shortfall for the 2025 academic year and beyond.