The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) assists a great many students around South Africa who aren’t in a position to put themselves through the university experience but it’s also known for being fairly… obtuse. One of the cooler options for students working through the NSFAS is a newly finalised tender that will see anyone being funded by the organisation being equipped with a notebook. As in a laptop computer, not an actual pen-and-paper notebook. That would certainly not be worth an entire article.
Yet, as with all things regarding communication from a government organisation, the messaging around how you actually order this very important piece of hardware is more than a little confusing. Thanks to the fine folks over at HTXT, we have a pretty good idea of how one would go about procuring their state funded laptop. Just remember, as explained by the official website, you’ll need to be, “registered at a public institution and… approved for NSFAS 2021 funding,” to qualify for one of these notebooks.
Taking notes with NSFAS
So to start this journey, the first thing you’ll need to do, rather obviously, is head over to the NSFAS website. You’ll then need to log into your account which can easily be done by heading to the top right corner and selecting the “myNSFAS” icon. You’ll be greeted with a login screen and a message that reads, “Students who are registered at a public institution and are approved for NSFAS 2021 funding can click here to order their laptop.”
Click on the button to proceed and you’ll be prompted to enter a whole bunch of information, including your ID number, student number, contact details, your institution’s name, personal home address and the name of your campus. Once that’s all sorted… you’re good to go! It’s actually remarkably straight forward but actually getting them delivered… well, that’s another story entirely.
If you’re not funded by NSFAS and you’re still looking for a cheap laptop to get you through the work that working day, we at Stuff constructed a quick guide on the best laptops you can get for under R5,000.