Also known as: NSFAF · Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund · the state-owned NSFAF
Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund — government student financing body facing audit concerns over weak loan recovery systems and N$11.7 billion loan portfolio.
News reports
Order a long-term news report on Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund
Every mention in the Namibian press over the period you choose, compiled as a PDF or Word document.
Key points drawn from coverage. Tap a point to see the original sentence.
Informanté
NSFAF received 41,322 applications for 2025 academic year
“For the 2025 academic year, NSFAF received a total of 41,322 applications.”
NSFAF ready to meet surge in 2026 student financial aid applicationsInformanté
NSFAF awarded 30,138 students with N$3.1 billion in financial assistance
“From these, we successfully awarded 30,138 deserving Namibian students with financial assistance amounting to N$3.1 billion for both tuition and non-tuition fees.”
NSFAF ready to meet surge in 2026 student financial aid applicationsNew Era
Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund vows to ensure stringent compliance with eligibility criteria of the new funding model
“The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) vows to ensure stringent compliance with the eligibility criteria of the new funding model.”
NSFAF launches online application …urges stern compliance to subsidyNew Era
NSFAF awarded in 2025 30,138 students with N$3.1 billion in financial assistance
“In 2025, prior to the subsidy, NSFAF awarded 30 138 deserving Namibian students with financial assistance amounting to N$3.1 billion for both tuition and non-tuition fees.”
NSFAF launches online application …urges stern compliance to subsidyInformanté
NSFAF has opened 2026 online applications for financial assistance
“THE 2026 NSFAF online applications for financial assistance have been launched, marking the official transition to the Subsidised Tertiary Education Funding Model.”
NSFAF opens 2026 applications, ushering in new funding modelNew Era
Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund must be convened at a national education alignment summit
“Within this period, a national education alignment summit must be convened, bringing together the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture, public and private universities, TVET institutions, NSFAF, teacher unions, and civil society.”
Opinion – An open appeal to fix what is breaking our children’s futuresThe Namibian
Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) will remain the basis for determining funding eligibility for 2026 academic year
“She added that for this academic year, the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) requirements will remain the basis for determining funding eligibility under the approved subsidised funding model.”
Support for marginalised students strengthenedNew Era
The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) announced that only high school graduates with 26 points and an AS level qualification will be funded for a degree
“The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) on Friday announced that only high school graduates with 26 points and an Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level (Grade 12) qualification will be funded to pursue a degree through the government's subsidised funding model.”
NASA takes aim at ‘exclusionary’ tertiary fundingNew Era
Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) announced funding requirements of 26 points
“Recently, the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) announced funding requirements (26 points) that is higher than the admission requirements of Unam itself.”
Editorial – Confusion around university admission and funding needs urgent clarityNew Era
Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) previously supported students that informed the 134,000 beneficiary figure
“She said the figure of 134 000 potential beneficiaries is based on enrolment data from public and private institutions, as well as the number of students previously supported through the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF).”
Not free but subsidised education – Steenkamp …134 000 students earmarked at tertiary levelThe education ministry plans to construct 148 permanent classrooms and 66 pre-primary classrooms across all 14 regions, and build 25 new schools in 10 regions, ahead of the 2027 academic year to address overcrowding and improve access to education. Implementation began in the 2025/26 financial year, with 22 of the new schools already at roof level.
15 October 2026 · New Era →
The education ministry plans to construct 148 permanent classrooms and 66 pre-primary classrooms across all 14 regions, and build 25 new schools in 10 regions, ahead of the 2027 academic year to address overcrowding and improve access to education. Implementation began in the 2025/26 financial year, with 22 of the new schools already at roof level.
15 October 2026 · New Era →
Five non-executive directors of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund received combined retainers and sitting fees of N$757,621 in the 2024/25 financial year, while the Auditor-General raised concerns about the fund's loan accounting, measurement of its N$11.70 billion student loan book, and delays in allocating repayments to individual accounts.
14 October 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund recovered N$21.5 million in student loans during 2024/25, representing less than 1% of its total student debtors, while auditors raised concerns about weak loan recovery processes, record-keeping, and the fund's ability to trace borrowers and establish debtor status.
13 October 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
Namibia's education ministry aims to complete 148 permanent classrooms and 66 pre-primary classrooms across all 14 regions before the 2027 academic year, as part of a 2025–2030 strategic plan to address overcrowding and improve access to education. The ministry is also constructing 25 new schools in 10 regions, with 22 already at roof level, though officials cautioned that these projects will not immediately resolve the country's classroom shortages.
13 October 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
The Auditor-General's latest findings on the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund show it recovered only N$21.5 million in student loans during the 2024/25 financial year, raising concerns about ineffective recovery systems, inadequate debtor tracing, and poor validation of borrower information against national databases.
13 October 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
The National Assembly resumed its fourth session of the eighth Parliament on Tuesday, with updates on medical laboratory students receiving psychosocial support and alternative study options through NUST and NSFAF, discussion of judicial reforms including a proposed Constitutional Court, plans for South African experts to visit Namibia to discuss reopening livestock auctions suspended after a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, and the Speaker raising concerns about a growing backlog of parliamentary questions.
8 October 2026 · New Era →
A court application alleges that personnel from Punchu Trading CC JV China State Construction Engineering Co. Southern Africa were on the project site on 5 September, two days before the Central Procurement Board of Namibia formally awarded the N$122 million veterinary cordon fencing contract to the joint venture on 7 September. A failed bidder claims photographs show a CPBN board member accompanied the winning company's personnel to the site.
14 September 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
A failed bidder alleges in court papers that personnel from Punchu Trading CC JV China State Construction Engineering Co. Southern Africa were on the veterinary cordon fencing project site on 5 September, two days before the Central Procurement Board formally awarded the N$122 million contract to that joint venture on 7 September. The applicant further alleges that a CPBN board member accompanied the winning bidder's personnel to the site.
14 September 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
Education Minister Sanet Steenkamp told Parliament that NSFAF received 56,075 applications this year, with 38,419 approved for funding and 17,586 at different validation stages or unsuccessful. Students have raised concerns about delayed non-tuition payments, with some facing eviction.
11 September 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
The Minister of Education announced a final application window for the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) for the 2026 academic year, running until 7 October 2026, following requests from students and trainees who missed previous application periods.
9 September 2026 · Informanté →
The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund has reopened its 2026 online application process for a third and final phase from 7 September to 7 October, giving eligible students another opportunity to apply for financial assistance for the 2026 academic year.
4 September 2026 · The Namibian →
A recent Grade 12 graduate reflects on the social pressure facing Namibian youth to immediately plan their futures after finishing secondary school, noting financial barriers to university attendance and the anxiety of choosing between higher education, mark upgrading, or gap years, while arguing that taking time to figure out one's direction is legitimate.
27 July 2026 · The Namibian →
The High Court has ordered NSFAF and former chief executive Hilya Nghiwete to file a joint case management report by 4 August 2026 ahead of a case management conference on 11 August 2026. NSFAF is seeking to recover N$4,301,277.36 paid to Nghiwete under an arbitration award that lost its legal basis following a Supreme Court ruling upholding her dismissal.
22 July 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
An opinion piece argues that Namibian students' access to financial assistance should not be determined by whether their accredited institution is publicly or privately owned, yet notes that government must ensure funds are directed toward quality education and national priorities.
17 July 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
An opinion piece argues that access to financial assistance from NSFAF should not depend on whether a student attends a public or private accredited institution, though full funding of all private universities raises concerns about public funds and quality control.
17 July 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
Welwitschia University Chancellor Scholastika Iipinge has called on NSFAF to fully cover tuition fees for students at private higher education institutions, stating that partial funding continues to leave families carrying a financial burden despite government promises of equal treatment.
17 July 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
The Chancellor of Welwitschia University has called on NSFAF to fully cover tuition fees for students at private higher education institutions, noting that partial sponsorships continue to leave families bearing financial burdens despite government promises of equal treatment.
17 July 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
Students awaiting NSFAF funding are expected to receive outstanding allowances by the end of July, after Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare conducted an oversight visit. Eligible continuing students will receive back-pay covering April to July, amounting to N$9 600 per student, with priority given to non-tuition allowances.
16 July 2026 · The Namibian →
Young Namibians aspiring to study medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have raised concerns over unclear and unfair policies by NSFAF and HPCNA, arguing that students admitted to universities abroad were later informed their programmes required curriculum approval, and that NSFAF's removal of medical programmes from its priority list has left them stranded.
15 July 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
Students at Shiramed Medical Institute in Katima Mulilo have negotiated with the institution to pay tuition fees with cattle instead of cash, an arrangement the principal tutor says has helped those without ready cash but who own livestock. The Students Union of Namibia supports the model, suggesting payment with livestock and agricultural produce could help rural families access higher education.
14 July 2026 · The Namibian →
A 42-year-old mother of four with media studies and nursing qualifications has struggled with unemployment for years and now survives by collecting discarded aluminium cans while continuing to seek permanent employment.
14 July 2026 · New Era →
About 25 Namibian students admitted to Parul University in India for the 2026 academic year attended a pre-departure orientation hosted by Afrostud Educational Consult to prepare them for studying abroad. Most students secured funding through the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund, with guidance covering visa requirements, travel preparations, and other transition matters.
9 July 2026 · The Namibian →
Namibia's higher education sector enrolled 97,333 students in 2025, with public institutions accounting for 50,941 and private institutions for 46,392. The University of Namibia, Namibia University of Science and Technology, and International University of Management were the largest institutions by enrollment.
8 July 2026 · Windhoek Observer →
Government has advanced N$247 million to the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund to accelerate the processing of student refunds under the Subsidised Tertiary Education Funding model, with disbursements expected to commence this week. Student Union of Namibia confirmed that refunds started reflecting in student accounts on Monday.
11 June 2026 · New Era →
Education Minister Sanet Steenkamp announced that the government has injected N$247 million into NSFAF to expedite outstanding student payments, with disbursement commencing this week and non-tuition payments expected to be finalised by mid-July 2026.
10 June 2026 · Informanté →
Education minister Sanet Steenkamp announced that the government has provided an additional N$247 million to the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund to accelerate student allowance payments, with disbursements expected to begin this week, as NSFAF continues to face criticism over payment delays.
10 June 2026 · The Namibian →
More than 200 Namibian students accepted into medical and health-related programmes abroad had their NSFAF funding applications rejected on grounds that these fields do not appear on the agency's priority list. An affected student said the policy shift was not formally communicated beforehand and contradicts the historical treatment of medical fields as priority.
9 June 2026 · The Namibian →
The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund is processing institutional invoices since April 2026 for tuition and non-tuition support, with advance payments already made to institutions. Non-tuition fee payments will now be processed weekly starting the second week of June 2026.
6 June 2026 · Informanté →
The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) walked out of talks with the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) over delayed disbursement of tuition and non-tuition funds, rejecting proposed timelines and calling for a protest at Government Park on Friday after the fund failed to meet previous commitments to release funds in April.
4 June 2026 · The Namibian →
The Ministry of Education has directed higher education institutions to allow NSFAF-funded students to write examinations and access results while funding payments are being finalised. The ministry is processing about 100,000 student funding records; delays stem from a high volume of applications, implementation of a new tertiary education funding model, and NSFAF integration.
2 June 2026 · Windhoek Observer →