People from working-class and poor backgrounds were unable to pursue higher education due to a lack of resources. The establishment of the #feesmustfall campaign followed this collective struggle.

Following this, the former president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, made an announcement in December 2017 that deserving students will receive financial assistance through budget allocations from the National Treasury in February 2018.

The fully-subsidized funding provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Bursary Scheme was made available to poor and working-class students enrolled in public universities.

The responsibility for awarding the DHET bursary to students who met the requirements was then transferred to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas).

The following are the qualifications:

• This bursary program is only available to citizens of South Africa. The student must be enrolled in or planning to enroll in any public university or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in South Africa. The student must meet the financial requirements for funding, such as a combined gross family income of up to R350 000 per year for first-time applicants; returning university students who began their studies prior to 2018 must meet the previous threshold of R122 000 per year.
  A recipient of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) automatically meets the financial requirements. A student can only be funded for one qualification at a time at one institution.

However, there are a few rare instances in which a second undergraduate qualification would be supported, such as students who go on to earn a Diploma or Degree after earning a Higher Certificate.

According to information provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), students will not receive funding until they have signed a Nsfas Bursary Agreement (NBA) and fulfilled all of the requirements.

By signing the NBA, students indicate that they accept the Bursary program’s obligations and responsibilities.