NSFAS is synonymous with the march of progress in Southern Africa, especially in making tertiary education more accessible to those whose socioeconomic conditions would otherwise stop them from escaping their poor and working-class environments.
Estimates from the department of higher education forecast a year-on-year increase in the number of NSFAS applicants in the double digits at 10 percent.
This means that the 2023 application window, once confirmed, could see over a million prospective students seeking funding through NSFAS, an increase from 2022, which saw 906 429 applications.
Yet, despite this, a good portion of those students were left in the dark when 280 000 NSFAS applications were rejected, with NSFAS CEO Andile Nongogo attributing the high number of rejections to system issues, a cumbersome appeal process, and a R10 billion shortfall in the NSFAS budget.
With technical systems that still require a good degree of work before they are optimized for the high number of applicants, knowing where the nearest physical NSFAS office is located can help you in the appeals process, the topic that shall be explored in today’s article.
Where are NSFAS offices located?
A great deal of effort has gone into streamlining NSFAS’s registrations and student applications since 2020, by creating online portals which act as alternatives to in-person registration, a point that was emphasized by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet, despite the efforts to completely digitize all of the registration and application details of the bursary schemes, system issues such as technical outages have been cited as contributing to the high number of rejections and delays most prospective students face when attempting to use the system.
This is why knowing where the actual physical offices of NSFAS are situated can be so important, especially in the case of appeals.
There are currently 15 NSFAS offices scattered throughout the major metropolitan areas of South Africa; this includes locations in Johannesburg, Soweto, Tshwane, eMalahleni, Thulamela, Secunda, Rustenburg, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, Mbombela, Kimberley, East London, Durban, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein.
But should your place of residence not have a NSFAS office, you can always go to your nearest municipal center and go to the local NYDA, which acts as an in-impromptu stand-in for any NSFAS office.
Does NSFAS allow walk ins?
All NSFAS and NYDA offices allow walk-ins as of the date of writing for inquiries related to bursary funding and other related activities.
During the height of the Covid pandemic, access to many government offices, including those belonging to the NSFAS bursary scheme, was restricted in an attempt to deter the spread of the virus, but since all Covid-19 restrictions were lifted on April 5, 2023, you are free to patronize any NSFAS office in the country.
Does NSFAS have an office?
The NSFAS bursary scheme has a number of offices throughout the country, including the NYDA, which acts as a substitute NSFAS office if an actual office is not present in a certain city or town.
NSFAS does, however, have a main office that is situated on the 2nd Floor of House Vincent, at 10 Brodie Road, Wynberg in Cape Town.
If you are unable to reach the office, you can try to contact them via their phone number at 080 006 7327 or email them at mawadaa@nsfas.org.za.
Where is NSFAS based?
NSFAS does not have a single location and can be found online through its official website if a physical location is unavailable to you for any number of reasons.
Strategically located offices for the bursary scheme can be found near most university campuses in major cities throughout the country.
You can also find a NSFAS representative at your local NYDA who can help you with any inquiries regarding the bursary scheme and apply for funding on-site.
There is also the official NSFAS website at www.nsfas.org.za, which gives its visitors the option to register an account through their online portal that can be used to apply for funding and track the status of your application in real-time.
How do I contact the NSFAS offices?
Each one of the 15 NSFAS offices based throughout South Africa have their own unique contact details that connect directly to representatives at that specific location.
But in most cases, prospective students have complaints and inquiries that apply specifically to NSFAS in general rather than a specific location, in which case the primary NASFAS contact details will suffice.
Anyone looking to contact NSFAS’s primary offices can dial their toll-free number at 080 006 7327 or 021 763 3200, as well as email them at info@nsfas.org.za.
NSFAS head office contact details
Many cases, such as those that involve appeals to being rejected by NSFAS for funding in a given academic year, require escalation with the head office to be resolved or to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
You can reach NSFAS’s head offices at the following contact details.
Their phone number is 021 763 3200, or via email at info@nsfas.org.za, or you can travel in person to their head office at 10 Brodie Road in Cape Town.
NSFAS WhatsApp number 2023
Unfortunately, as of the date of writing, there is no WhatsApp number for NSFAS, but there is a chat portal on the NSFAS website that you can access under your account that will lodge queries directly to the bursary schemes head office.
You can also join one of the many student-run WhatsApp groups and crowdsource knowledge relating to NSFAS that can help you on your journey to economic emancipation.
NSFAS Address
NSFAS, not counting the NYDA, has offices in 15 locations throughout the country.
Most are walk-in centers where you can apply for funding for your academic studies within a given year.
Some locations have more than one NSFAS office in a single town. If there isn’t an NSFAS office nearby, the NYDA acts as a substitute for all of the services you would find at an official NSFAS office.
