South Africa: No, South African Student Did Not Receive R630,432 Instead of R6,000 From Aid Scheme Nsfas
IN SHORT: Claims that a South African student received a payment of more than R600,000 from the country’s higher education financial aid scheme have been making the rounds on Facebook. But Nsfas says this is “false and misleading”.
“A South African student got the surprise of a lifetime today when NSFAS accidentally deposited R630,432 into her account – instead of her expected R6,000 allowance,” reads a post circulating on Facebook in March 2026.
The claim has been posted on various groups on the platform, all with thousands of followers, including here, here and here.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme, commonly known as Nsfas, provides financial assistance to disadvantaged South African students in higher education. It is managed by the country’s Department of Higher Education and Training and covers eligible recipients’ accommodation, living allowance, transport and learning materials.
Nsfas has funding criteria, and the amount paid out is determined by factors such as whether a student lives in an urban or rural area and how far they live from the higher education institution, among others.
In 2018, various news outlets reported that a student had accidentally received R14 million (about US$1,1 million at the time) in Nsfas funding from their university. Has a similar error occurred again?
‘False and misleading’
The post includes a screenshot of a bank statement showing a deposit of R630,432. But Nsfas says the image has been manipulated and “appears to be AI-generated”.
In a media statement posted on its official Facebook and X pages, Nsfas dismissed the claim as “false and misleading”. The aid scheme said the transaction shown in the image did not correspond to any payment it made.
According to Nsfas, it does not make lump sum payments directly to students. Instead, funds are paid to universities that then administer approved allowances to students.
“We want to assure students, institutions, and the public that NSFAS systems remain secure and there has been no irregular payment or breach associated with this claim,” the statement reads.
The claim is false and should be disregarded.
By Africa Check
