The Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme Bursary for South Africans (ISFAP Bursary 2024)

admin August 6, 2023

2 minutes read

DEADLINE: 31 October 2023

The Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme Bursary for South Africans (ISFAP Bursary 2024)

ISFAP was established as a funding model to sustainably cater for the higher education needs and costs of South Africa’s poor and middle-class students. The programme aims to fast track South Africa’s skills production for the 21st century by funding the higher education costs of mainly students studying towards a career in Occupations of High Demand (OHDs), which have been identified as critical to South Africa’s economic development by the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC). These include Actuaries, Accountants, Engineers, Medical Doctors, Pharmacists and Prosthetists.

Since growing South Africa’s skills base and supporting students from poor and middle-income families is critical to the growth and development of South Africa’s economy, both government and the private sector have come together under ISFAP to fund students and help address issues of sustainable employment and decent work in the country post-qualification. So, other than its aim to promote higher education, ISFAP also represents yet another positive public-private partnership aimed at driving National Development.

ISFAP aims to address the following challenges that face South African students:

Reducing the high dropout rate of poor and working class students in the higher education and training sector
Improving the employability of funded graduates
Improving the country’s skills profile, especially in occupations of high demand
Improving the partnership between government, the private sector/business and higher education institutions in supporting poor and “missing middle” students.