Higher education in South Africa creates a garden of opportunities for personal and professional growth. Cost may be one of the major stumbling blocks to opening such opportunities to many families. Tuition fees, accommodation needs, study materials, and living comprise many costs that make higher education an expensive venture. Fortunately, there are various funding options in South Africa that students can tap into to meet their different financial needs and academic aspirations. Understanding these options is essential to prospective students and their families while making informed decisions on financing tertiary education and developing academic goals with unduly inappropriate financial strain.
Popular Funding Types for South Africa’s Higher Education
NSFAS
Typically, it’s a government-based initiative. It provides students, especially those from the low-income population, monetary aid. NSFAS covers tuition, accommodation, study material, and some living allowances for students attending public universities and colleges of TVET.
NSFAS is means-tested, putting most of its emphasis on students whose incomes are below a certain level. In this instance, at or below R 350 000 per annum. The funding does not need to be returned; however, performance criteria linked with academic performance must be met to receive the funds. However, academic performance is required from a student in all years of study. In cases when students drop out of the courses or have unsatisfactory levels of educational performance, it can involve partial repayment of some funds taken.
The main reason NSFAS is an advantage is its rationale for assisting students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds: financial hardship should not hinder academic capabilities. Domestically, the demand for NSFAS support is so high. Thus, it has to be done very early on by the students so that they can seize their opportunities.
External Bursaries
Among all the students in South Africa, more prefer external bursaries. They usually come from private companies, NGOs, or professional bodies and are expected to assist the student, especially in specific fields of study. The reasons behind getting an external bursary can either be merit alone, financial need alone, or both, and they are usually sent to students pursuing studies in areas concerned with the organization offering the bursary.
Corporate social responsibility and some forms of investment in the future workforce involve the usage of bursaries. These usually require going to work in this particular company upon graduation, even for some time that is equal to the duration of the funds. This is an excellent opportunity for students to safeguard their education and future employment.
Study Loans
Many other students, who are mainly not entitled to any bursary or even from NSFAS, satisfy their higher education through loans. Virtually all the central banks and financial institutions in South Africa, including First Rand Bank, Standard Bank, and ABSA, grant loans for studies. This loan covers the total cost of education, tuition, textbooks, and living expenses as one pursues their studies.
The primary difference between studies loans and other types of financial aid is that loans are to be repaid, often with accrued interest. Most banking facilities have flexible payback terms that allow students to begin reimbursing the loan after completing their studies and getting a job.
Interest rates may vary for study loans based on the lender, the creditworthiness of the borrower, and all these factors. Hence, students and their families must compare options and pick the best loan with the best terms.
One good thing about the loan for study purposes is that it allows students to finance their studies in cases where the strict criteria for bursaries or NSFAS funding have not been met. However, a loan means responsibility for repayment one day in the future, which is a factor to consider whether they can afford this when being integrated into the job market.
Savings
With many families choosing to save in advance for higher education expenses long before their children reach university age, such savings can be used to cover the cost of tuition, books, and living expenses. Savings for higher education could be done through savings accounts, TFSAs, or investments like unit trusts.
One of the big positives of savings being utilized to pay for education is that it negates debt and nulls repaying loans postgraduation. In addition, long-term savings allow a family to benefit from compound interest, thus rapidly increasing the latter’s value over time. The earlier the savings begin, the more time an investment will take to grow and build returns.
Savings are a challenge, though, since not all families can truly afford to put aside large sums of money for education as the cost of living is high and there are other priorities. Saving early in the child’s life, along with regular deposits into the fund, would be highly instrumental in accumulating enough funds with which university expenses become affordable when that age is reached.
Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme
The Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme is one of the newer programs. It provides funding to students who have been termed the “missing middle”- whose family income is too high for NSFAS yet too low to pay for higher education. ISFAP attempts to bridge that gap by providing funding that covers tuition fees, among other needs, accommodation, and allowance for books and meals.
The targeted fields of ISFAP are engineering, medicine, and science, which are identified as critical to the economic development of South Africa. Besides financial aid, ISFAP provides academic and psycho-social support to enable students’ success in their studies. This, therefore, makes ISFAP different from other forms of financial assistance; ISFAP uses a more holistic approach to support students.
Scholarships
Scholarships would be another popular option for financing higher education. Various institutions, organizations, and private donors provide these opportunities according to students’ academic, sports, or artistic achievements. Unlike bursaries, scholarships are generally given strictly according to merit, but indeed, many consider the financial background of the recipient.
Most universities grant scholarships to their top students, especially in science, engineering, and medicine. Additionally, organizations and foundations provide scholarships outside the universities for those with exceptional talent or potential in their fields of interest.
The advantage is that they are not repayable, thus making them an ideal learner funding source. However, they can often be highly competitive, with learners needing to retain a very high academic performance or meet specific criteria to continue to receive such awards throughout their studies.