The start of the 2026 academic year is a tough and stressful time for many South African students supported by NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme). They are waiting for their living allowances, which are a major part of their financial support and are needed for food, transport, and accommodation. Although funding decisions for the new academic year have been announced by NSFAS and it has been confirmed that around 600,000 students will be getting financial aid, the delays in allowance payments are still affecting thousands of the nation’s students.
NSFAS Funding Confirmed — But Allowances Lag Behind
Just recently, NSFAS has almost completed funding decisions for academic year 2026, giving many students the certainty of their eligibility. More than 600,000 applicants have been given approval, while some have been rejected or marked as incomplete because they did not submit all necessary documents. Yet, the conclusion of fund allocation does not imply that the living allowance disbursement will take place immediately; the living allowances are actually very important for the students’ daily survival. Since allowance payments are dependent on administrative activities that include taking registration verification and banking details verification—delays are still being experienced even after the funding is approved.
Why Living Allowance Payments Are Delayed
There are a few essential factors that applied together result in the situation where some students get NSFAS living allowances late:
- Administrative and System Bottlenecks It is a time-consuming process to handle and validate student data from thousands of applications. The universities have to upload the registration and funding data properly to the NSFAS system before the allowances can be released. If some information is missing or incorrect, the payments are delayed.
- Banking and Verification Issues One of the main reasons for the delay in living expenses is the wrong or incomplete banking information that is maintained in the student’s profile. If NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) cannot verify the bank account of the student, then the system will not be able to process the payment and the money will be trapped.
- Legacy Payment Backlogs There is a large number of unmet payment problems that have been accumulating over time, which has become a major issue for NSFAS especially regarding the accommodation allowances that are yet to be released. The delays from the past cycles still have an effect on the current situation thus causing a bottleneck in the process.
Impact on Students& Everyday Life
Living allowances are a crucial financial support for many students, and even those who receive NSFAS aid cannot cover all their basic needs with the allowance. If the delays continue up to the beginning of 2026, the following situation will arise:
- There will be food insecurity: The students will be penniless and some universities will have to provide support through meal programs.
- There will be a transport problem: Students will not be able to attend lectures and tutorial sessions because their allowances will not be processed.
- Housing insecurity will increase: The delay in accommodation allowances might result in eviction and unsettled living situation.
- Student bodies have forecasted that the number of impacted students could go as high as tens of thousands—especially those who have already paid their fees and are expecting monthly support to commence in February or March.
NSFAS’s Solution to the Issue
The NSFAS in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education have recognized the problem and have consequently announced actions that would be carried out to speed up the process and reduce the time taken. A few of the actions include:
- The universities becoming more united with the uploading of registrations being done quicker as a result.
- Communication systems of better quality being set up to notify students of missing documents or any changes regarding payments.
- The solving of technicalities that were responsible for the previous glitches which resulted in the allowance not being dispensed to the TVETs and universities.
- The above-mentioned efforts are still ongoing but nevertheless, it is important for the students to frequently check their myNSFAS status online and if they have not got their payments, to contact the financial aid office at their institution.
Tips for Affected Students
To avoid delays or to eliminate the existing ones, students must:
- Verify their banking details on the myNSFAS portal.
- Ensure that their registration and academic records are up to date.
- In case of any payment issues, the student should get in touch with either NSFAS or the financial aid office at their university for assistance.
also read : New SASSA Grant Rules Taking Effect in 2026 – Who Is Affected