NSFAS has decided to defund Teaching and Nursing qualifications for first year students starting this year.
This is according to an article published in Business Insider, last week. Based on a circular notice NSFAS sent to universities on 12 February 2021, NSFAS will not provide funding for first year students starting in 2021 towards the following:
Any qualification that has the word National in its title
- BTECH qualifications
- Legacy two-year diplomas
- Legacy NQF Level 8 qualifications
- B Ed qualifications
- B Cur qualifications
- Bridging programmes
According to Business Insider, a NSFAS representative has confirmed that the circular is authentic.
For the Matric Class of 2020 who are getting their results on Tuesday, 23 February 2021, this news comes as a huge blow on top of the most difficult matric year ever.
According to student comments on a Facebook Group: “With 1 day to Matric 2020 results announcements NSFAS is apparently preparing to throw a bomb for the first time university candidates.”
“In simple words if you are a first time university student or you have never been registered at any university in South Africa you will not get a cent from NSFAS if you are registered to do some or all education and nursing qualifications.”
“The big question I have now is where should all these people who applied for teaching and nursing get the money for their studies? And what exactly is the main reason for doing all this?”
Studying Teaching Now That NSFAS Is No Longer Funding First-Year Students
Although NSFAS has announced that they will no longer be funding BEd for any first-year students, you still have options.
If you have already applied, you can choose to write to your university and change your course to a 3-year degree. That can be a:
- BCom
- BA
- BSC
- BsocSci
You can then major in the subject that you want to teach. Examples of these subjects could include:
- BA- English & History as a major
- BCom -Accounting and Economics as a major
- BSC- Mathematics and Physical Science as a major
- PGCE
A PGCE or a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education is a professional teaching qualification that allows people with degrees to move into the field of education.
It can either take 1 year as a full-time course or 2 years when studied part-time. Using this method, you will have 2 qualifications in the time that you could have received one with a 4 year BEd.
Click here to see a comparison of the National Matric Results from 2010 to 2020.
Click here to see the results of the Gauteng Province
Click here to see the results of the Western Cape
Click here to see the results of the Eastern Cape
Click here to see the results of the Free State
Click here to see the results of the KwaZulu-Natal
Click here to see the results of Limpopo
Click here to see the results of Mpumalanga
Click here to see the results of the Northern Cape