The Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) exists for students whose household income is too high for NSFAS and too low to pay fees — the group usually described as the missing middle.
It is a different kind of programme from NSFAS: it funds specific qualifications at specific institutions, and it provides support beyond money. This page explains how it works and where to check the current position.
Eligibility Requirements at a Glance
What this kind of funding programme generally requires.
- South African citizenship and a valid South African ID
- A household income above the NSFAS threshold and below the programme’s upper limit
- Admission or registration for a qualification the programme funds
- Study at a participating institution
- Strong academic results, since these programmes select on merit as well as need
- Full disclosure of household income and other funding held
- Participation in the programme’s support and mentorship requirements
- Meeting academic progress conditions to keep the funding
- Application by the published closing date
Documents and Supporting Evidence Required
Funding is concentrated on specific qualifications. Programmes of this kind typically fund scarce-skill and professional fields — engineering, accounting, actuarial science, medicine and allied health, and similar — rather than any degree. Check the current list of funded qualifications and participating institutions before applying.
The support is not only financial. Wrap-around support — tutoring, mentoring, psychosocial support and career guidance — is a defining feature, because the evidence is that missing-middle students fail for reasons beyond money. Take the support seriously; it is generally a condition, not an optional extra.
Selection is competitive. Need alone is not enough. Academic results, the field of study and the available funding in that field all matter, and meeting the criteria does not guarantee an award.
Continued funding depends on academic progress. Failing to meet the progression requirement can end the funding mid-degree, which is a worse position than never having had it. Understand the requirement before you accept.
Read the obligations attached. Programmes in this space vary between grants, loans and income-contingent repayment models, and some carry a work-back obligation. Establish exactly which applies to your award and get it in writing before signing.
Apply for NSFAS anyway if you are near the threshold. Thresholds are revised, household circumstances change, and a NSFAS decline in writing is often useful evidence for other funders.
Application Requirements and Steps
What is generally required with an application.
- Certified copy of your South African ID
- Certified copies of your parents’ or guardians’ IDs
- Your latest academic results or National Senior Certificate
- Proof of household income for all contributing members — payslips, pension statements or an affidavit where income is informal
- A death certificate for a deceased parent, or a divorce decree, where applicable
- Your admission or registration letter and the institution’s fee structure
- Proof of any other funding you hold or have applied for
- A completed application form and any required motivation
- Proof of residence and contact details that reach you
Costs, Processing Times and Key Conditions
Applying is free. Student funding applications do not carry a fee, and nobody can sell you an award. Bursary fraud targeting students is common and takes payment for “processing”, “registration” or a “guaranteed placement” that does not exist.
Closing dates are hard. Funding programmes close and do not consider late applications, and they generally close well before the academic year starts. Diarise the date the moment applications open.
Disclose everything. Concealing household income or another bursary is fraud and results in the funding being withdrawn and repayment demanded. Multiple awards are usually not permitted for the same costs.
Understand what is covered. Tuition, accommodation, books, a laptop and a living allowance are treated differently by different funders, and a gap between what is covered and what the institution charges is the student’s problem. Get the coverage in writing.
Payments generally go to the institution for tuition, with allowances paid to the student where applicable, and timing can lag registration. Plan for the first weeks of the year without funds in hand.
Keep your own records — the application, the award letter, the conditions and all correspondence. Disputes over funding are resolved on documents.
Where and How to Apply
Verify the current position with the programme itself and with your institution’s financial aid office. Funded qualifications, participating institutions, income bands and application windows change from year to year, and only the source is reliable.
Talk to the institution’s financial aid office early. They know about funds that are never widely advertised, including faculty bursaries, donor funds and hardship grants, and they are the single most under-used resource in student funding.
Apply to several funders in parallel. NSFAS, institutional bursaries, employer bursaries including a parent’s employer, sector and professional body funds, and government departmental bursaries. Applications are free and cost only time.
Apply early in the cycle, not close to the deadline. Many funds are allocated as applications are processed.
Never pay for a bursary, an application, or a place. Not to a person, not to a “consultant”, not for a “registration fee”. Every such demand is fraud.
Verify any bursary advertisement against the funder’s own website. Fraudulent bursary adverts use personal numbers, messaging groups and urgent deadlines.
Never send your ID or bank details to an unverified party. Students are a primary target for identity theft and money-mule recruitment.
If a funder fails to pay as agreed, raise it in writing with the funder and with the institution’s financial aid office, and keep the correspondence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the missing middle?
Students whose household income is above the NSFAS threshold but who still cannot afford fees. Programmes such as ISFAP exist specifically for that band.
Does it fund any degree?
Generally not. Programmes of this kind fund specific scarce-skill and professional qualifications at participating institutions. Check the current funded list before applying.
Is it a grant or a loan?
It varies by programme and by award, and some carry a work-back obligation. Establish exactly which applies to your award, in writing, before accepting.
Can I hold two bursaries?
Usually not for the same costs, and concealing another award is fraud. Disclose all funding held or applied for.
Funded qualifications, participating institutions, income bands, conditions and application windows are set by the programme and are revised annually. Confirm current requirements with the programme and with your institution’s financial aid office.