DHET Bursary South Africa 2025

The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) plays a key role in ensuring access to tertiary education in South Africa. One of its most remarkable programs is the DHET Bursary, which provides financial support to eligible students to help them pursue higher education. The DHET Bursary scheme is all about making higher education free and accessible for South Africa’s poor and working-class students.

This guide offers an overview of the DHET Bursary for 2025, covering its qualification criteria, expenses covered, as well as the application process. Hence, continue reading to learn more about DHET Bursary South Africa 2025.

About DHET

In 2009, the Department of Education was split into two different systems, leading to the establishment of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the Department of Basic Education. This department was set up to focus on post-school education and training as a whole, taking on a much bigger task over time. The DHET’s vision is to create a connected and well-coordinated post-school education and training system that helps youth and adult take part in the economy and improve their social development.

DHET Bursary South Africa 2025

In December 2017, the government introduced free higher education for underdeveloped and working-class South Africans. The program, run through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), started helping first-year students in 2018. To make this happen, DHET General Fund was improved, expanded, and turned into a full, bursary scheme for poor students.

The DHET Bursary scheme started in 2018 and has been introduced gradually over five years. Here’s what you need to know about DHET Bursary:

What Does DHET Bursary Cover?

The DHET Bursary covers accommodation, living allowances, transport, and learning materials. Eligible students will receive a bursary that covers their full tuition cost, along with an allowance for prescribed learning materials prescribed by NSFAS. The actual cost of tuition fee is the fee charged for the particular program that the student is studying at the chosen institution.

These fees vary based on the field of study (such as engineering, medicine, art, or history) and the institution. Meanwhile, prescribed learning materials include the essential items required for a student’s courses, such as textbooks, tools, or software, with the amount provided capped. Students can access additional material through university libraries or online resources.

University

• Accommodation (costs will be covered based on the actual fees charged by the university, with private accommodation costs not exceeding those for university residents.)
• Living allowance (R15,00 Per Annum)
• Transport ( for distances up to 40 km from the institution) with an annual allowance of R7,500.
• Book allowance (R5200 Per Annum)
• Students in catered residences will receive an incidental/personal care allowance of R2,900 per year.

TVET College

• Accoommodation (Urban area: R24,000 per annum; Per-urban area: R18,900 per annum; Rural area: R15,750 per annum)
• Transport ( for distances up to 40 km from the institution) with an annual allowance of R7,350.
• Transport (R7000 per annum)
• An incidental/personal care allowance of R2,900 per year is provided.

Who is Qualified For DHET Bursary South Africa 2025?

DHET Bursary has certain eligibility requirements that every applicant must fulfill. The following are the bursary’s eligibility requirements:

• Applicant must be a South African citizen.
• All SASSA grant recipients qualify for funding.
• Applicants whose household income does not exceed R350,000 per year are eligible.
• For individuals with disabilities, the combined household income must not exceed R600,000 per year.
• A student who began their studies before 2018 and has a household income of R122,000 or less per year are eligible.
• Students who have already completed the precious qualification should not apply.
• Students whose combined household income exceeds R350,000 per year should not apply.

Students who have applied, qualified, and received funding will continue to be funded throughout their studies, provided they pass their modules and fulfill the academic requirements.

DHET Bursary South Africa 2025: Application Process

You can apply for the DHET Bursary online. Here’s how you can do it.

• Firstly, open the NSFAS website on your web browser. You can apply for the DHET Bursary directly from the NSFAS website.
• After opening the website, press the “myNSFAS” option to log in to your account using your login credentials. However, if you don’t have an account, you must click “Create Account’ and follow the steps to set up your NSFAS account.
• After logging in to your account, navigate to the application section by clicking the “Apply” option.
• Fill out the required information by answering the set of questions on the screen.
• Make sure to upload all the necessary documents as part of your application.
• After carrying out all the steps, press the “ Submit” option.
• After submission, you will get an application reference number for future tracking.

Ending Lines

To sum up, DHET Bursary is all about providing financial support to South African students from working-class and underdeveloped backgrounds. You can apply for the program through the NSFAS official website, where you can create an account, fill out the application form, upload the required documents, and track your application status. Make sure to apply for the bursary before the closing date.