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SASSA Offices Banking Details Contact SASSA Check Status →SASSA found your ID in the NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) database. Students receiving NSFAS funding are considered to have access to financial support and therefore do not qualify for the SRD R370 grant.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) database shows that you are registered as a student receiving NSFAS funding - which may include a bursary, living allowance, or accommodation allowance. SASSA treats NSFAS funding as an alternative income or financial support source, which disqualifies you from the SRD grant for any month NSFAS registration is active.
SASSA cross-checks the NSFAS database monthly. If you are registered as an active NSFAS beneficiary for that academic year, your SRD will be declined with nsfas_registered. The decline applies even if you haven't received your NSFAS allowance yet that month, or if there's a disbursement delay. NSFAS registration, not actual payment, is what SASSA checks.
Visit nsfas.org.za and log into your myNSFAS account. Check whether you are showing as an active, funded student. If you've left university or college, check that your status reflects this.
Call NSFAS on 08000 67327 or email info@nsfas.org.za to report that you are no longer a student. Request that your status be updated and get written confirmation.
A letter from your institution confirming you are no longer enrolled, or a NSFAS letter confirming your funding has ended, will be needed for your SASSA appeal.
Explain in the appeal text that you are no longer a registered student or that you no longer receive NSFAS funding. Reference the supporting documentation.
While you are studying and receiving NSFAS, you will not qualify for SRD. Once you graduate or deregister and NSFAS updates its records, you can apply again or your automatic monthly check may approve you.
The common misunderstanding here is that people think this only affects current students. It doesn't. NSFAS records often stay open long after somebody has graduated or dropped out, and SASSA reads that open record as active funding.
If you finished studying or left university, the fix isn't with SASSA at all - it's with NSFAS or your institution's financial aid office. You need something in writing that says your funding ended and when it ended. A screenshot of an empty myNSFAS dashboard usually isn't enough on its own.
If you are currently funded, this decline is correct and appealing won't change it. NSFAS allowances count as government support above the SRD threshold. That's not a system error, it's how the rule is written.
Paul Geddes, SassaHelp