The higher education ministry has promised to finally release the list of successful students who had applied for funding through the Namibian Students Financial Assistance Fund for the 2021 academic year.
About 23 000 applications were received, of which 17 394 met the funding requirements based on the NSFAF funding criteria. This settles apprehensiveness for thousands of needy students who were in desperation of hope, certainty and security over their status of funding.
Higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi on Friday announced that the validation process is completed and the government through NSFAF shall award 16 185 applicants that have met the criteria of income means-testing (parental/guardian or own income), academic performance, and priority fields of study.
This number is for undergraduate, vocational and post-graduate studies. The minister said the list of awardees shall be published and shared with institutions of higher learning today. Further updates will be shared by NSFAF.
As customary, every year government through NSFAF invites potential students to apply for financial assistance to pursue tertiary education. The 2021 application for financial assistance opened on 18 January 2021 and closed on 16 March 2021, via NSFAF online application platform.
With the new curriculum introduced by the ministry of education, the NSFAF online application was modified to incorporate both the legacy grade 12 as well as for learners exiting with an ordinary level certificate at grade 11.
“This has raised expectations of a situation where local institutions of higher learning registering many students meeting NSFAF funding requirements, against limited funding resources. Due to the higher number of eligible students vis-à-vis the limited resources, a further validation by the Ministry of Finance was executed, hence the delay in announcing 2021 awards,” she justified.