Cape Town - The Department of Higher Education and Training has announced "a comprehensive review" on the spending priorities of the National Skills Fund, which will help to put more youth through the tertiary education system.
This, it said, was being done in order to "reprioritise its funding allocations" in line with National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS3) and SA's Human Resources Development Strategy.
Minister for Basic Education Angie Motshekga was speaking in Parliament in Cape Town today during a briefing, which was attended by Minister for Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande, among others.
"We have also started a process of consolidating all resources of bursaries and loans under the banner of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)," said Motshekga.
She said that the NSFAS was set to get an additional allocation of funds amounting to R150 million this year.
About R22.9 million of that would be dedicated to funding 820 first year students and R7 million towards a bursary scheme for rural students who did well in their matric examinations last year.
The minister said that R21 million would cater for 300 first year students with disabilities and the "balance of R99.1 million will be for students who are already in these fields."
The National Skills Fund would earmark R100 million for Career Wise bursaries. Of that amount, R17 million would fund 258 first year students, R4 million would go towards the Dipaleseng Special Bursary Scheme and R11.5 million would be used to support 245 first year students studying chartered accountancy at Fort Hare University.
The reminder of R4.6 million would go towards supporting 67 "first year bursaries to fulfill the commitment I made in honour of former President Nelson Mandela in Giyani," said Motshekga.
