Bhorat H., Pillay, N., (2017) The National Student Financial Aid Schem (NSFAS) and the development of the higher education system in South Africa.

The report provides an overview of the demographics and performance of NSFAS beneficiaries at public universities, over the period 2000-2012. The number of NSFAS recipients grew by 260% to cover 20% of all university students, contributing to increased opportunities for access to higher education. NSFAS has been particularly successful at targeting wormen and African, coloured and Indian students. While historically disadvantaged student have benefited, there are some differences in the size of awards received across races. Encouraging trends are a positive association between NSFAS award sizes and student performance, as measured by both the 'subject pass rate' and the likelihood of passing all subjects. The positive association between NSFAS award size and student performance is slightly stronger at historically black institutions than at historically white institutions.