The government has resolved the higher education funding crisis that prevented tens of thousands of students from registering for the 2025 academic year, higher education & training minister Buti Manamela announced on Monday.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) said in August that it faced a funding shortfall of R10.6bn for universities and R1.6bn for technical vocational education & training (TVET) colleges, leaving students who provided registration data after the March 31 deadline in limbo and preventing some students from registering for the second semester.
Briefing the media, Manamela said funds had been reprioritised in the higher education & training sector’s R13.3bn budget to support 34,000 students with blocked registrations and 15,000 students who had been unable to register for the second semester.
“This marks a significant moment in the stabilisation of NSFAS for the 2025 academic year. However, the scheme is still at financial risk due to an increasing number of students qualifying for post-school education and training funding, the escalating cost of living… and declining state resources,” he said. “We will later in the year announce steps towards sustainable funding reforms for NSFAS.”
Manamela warned that first-year university places for 2026 were expected to be heavily over-subscribed and urged school leavers to explore other options for further study.
“For 2026, we project about 235,000 first-year university spaces. That is a large number, but it cannot absorb every qualifying learner. This is why we stress that learners must … recognise that sector education & training authorities, TVET colleges and community colleges are equally important pathways into work, skills and further study,” he said.
Key Points:
- • NSFAS faced a R10.6bn shortfall for universities and R1.6bn for TVET colleges.
- • Funds have been reprioritised in the budget to help 34,000 students with blocked registrations.
- • NSFAS will provide full financial support to TVET college students.
- • First-year university places for 2026 will be heavily oversubscribed.
- • Applications for 2026 will open on September 16.
NSFAS, which supports about 900,000 students with bursaries and loans, is expected to open applications for the 2026 academic year on September 16.
The government intended to incentivise enrolment in the TVET college sector with increased financial support. “For those choosing TVET colleges, NSFAS will fully cover tuition, registration and allowances in line with the Heher commission,” he said.
The Heher commission’s final report, released in 2017, recommended all TVET college students receive fully subsidised education in the form of grants, to encourage enrolment in the sector. For university students, it recommended income-contingent loans from commercial banks.
Then-president Jacob Zuma ignored the commission’s recommendations and announced free higher education for all students from households with an annual income below R350,000.
The DA’s Delmaine Christians said the minister’s remarks about fee-free access for TVET students were not new. They repeated a promise made by former higher education & training minister Blade Nzimande.
She questioned the decision to assist blocked and unregistered students by shifting funds within the sector rather than injecting new money, saying such a move was likely to mean robbing Peter to pay Paul. “A one-off fix can’t replace systemic reform,” she said.
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