The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) aims to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds get financial aid to pursue higher education. This is a special type of bursary reserved for South Africans only. The students get different forms of allowances under this scheme. If you intend to apply for NSFAS funding
What Is Book Allowance?
NSFAS bursary is meant to provide students with transport allowance, book allowance, living allowance, personal care allowance, and accommodation. Thus, book allowance refers to the money allocated for purchasing books from your NSFAS funding. When you enroll in university and qualify for NSFAS aid, a certain amount is set aside and specifically meant to purchase books, stationery, and other study materials. Public universities do not provide some items you may need to use when undertaking your studies.
How Much Is NSFAS Book Allowance?
NASFAS book allocation is only offered to university students pursuing degree programs. The book allowance for the 2026 academic calendar is R5200 and is paid once a year. While other quotas are paid monthly, the book allowance is offered at the beginning of each academic year. Once you receive this money, you should budget it accordingly because you will not get more funding for the same purpose for the entire year.
How Much Will NSFAS Give Students In 2026?
When you qualify for an NSFAS bursary, you are eligible to get funding to cover study-related expenses, also called student allowance. The beneficiaries get monthly payments to cover different expenses apart from the book allowance paid once per year. The allowances are paid to your NSFAS Wallet, and you can redeem them as cash to meet your day-to-day needs at college.
University students are entitled to the following allocations for the 2026 academic calendar.
- Transport allowance: R7500 per or R750 per month (It covers up to 40 km radius from the institution)
- The living allowance is R15 000 per year or R1500 per month.
- Book allowance: R5200 per year
- Personal care allowance: R2900 or R290 per month
- Accommodation: Hostels R33 000 per year or R25 000 for private residences (the university charges the cost of accommodation, and all private residences should not exceed the money stipulated by the institution.
From these figures, it can be observed that NSFAS gives each student at university about R63 600 in 2026. All students studying in public universities across South Africa get the same amount of funding from NSFAS.
NSFAS funding for TVET students slightly differs from university students due to different reasons. For instance, courses offered by TVET colleges are less demanding than degree programs. Additionally, most courses offered by colleges usually take a shorter time to complete than degree programs.
The following is a breakdown of NSFAS funding for TVET students.
- Transport is capped at R7350 per year and covers a radius of up to 40 km from the college.
- Accommodation is divided into three segments that include the following:
- Urban areas: R24 000 per year
- Peri-urban locations: R18 900 per year
- In rural areas: R15 750
- The personal care allowance is R2 900 per year.
On average, TVET college students get about R34 250 per year. However, the amount differs depending on where you stay. Students who live in rural areas get less money than individuals in other areas. There is a difference of about R30 000 between the money offered to university students and TVET students.
However, personal allowance care is the same across the board since college and university students get personal care allowance of R2900 per year. This allowance was introduced to help students pay for toiletries. TVET college students don’t get book allowances and living allowances.
Is NSFAS Allowance Increasing In 2026?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) determines the increase of NSFAS allowances. Students get funding according to their specific expenses and needs. Usually, each year is characterized by changes in the prices of different commodities, which can also lead to an increase in the aid they get. However, the Financial Aid Scheme has not offered an official statement concerning an increase in NSFAS allowances in 2026.
While many people are anticipating an increase in their allowances following drastic changes that have taken place in the entire economy in 2026, there has been no official communication so far. Therefore, any information speculating about an increment in NSFAS allowances in 2026 is false. You should wait to get the correct details from NSFAS and not any other source.
When you qualify for NSFAS funding, you are entitled to get different forms of allowances depending on your institution. Due to many factors, university students get more allowances than their counterparts in TVET colleges. In this post, we have explained everything you need to know about NSFAS allowances.
