For thousands of South African students, completing an undergraduate degree is not the end of financial hardship. Instead, pursuing postgraduate studies often means entering a funding gap that leaves many students without sufficient financial support.
While organisations such as the National Research Foundation (NRF), Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas), the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research provide funding to some students, demand continues to far exceed available resources. As a result, many honours, master’s and doctoral students are forced to find alternative ways to pay tuition fees, accommodation and daily living expenses.
Without a dedicated national postgraduate funding programme comparable to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), entrepreneurship has become a survival strategy for many students.
Students Build Small Businesses To Stay In University
Some students have launched legitimate small businesses while balancing demanding academic programmes.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology honours student Sibabalwe Ngandana runs a vetkoek business to cover groceries and living expenses while saving part of his income to reduce outstanding university debt. Although he believes a bursary would have allowed him to focus entirely on his studies, he says entrepreneurship has given him valuable business skills and financial independence.
Another postgraduate student supplements his income by operating a scooter delivery service and selling sausages after losing financial support.
At the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), virology honours student Wanga Mammburu runs a business supplying hair products used for wig installations. She says the additional income has enabled her to continue her research despite financial pressures, but believes more funding opportunities are needed for students pursuing academic rather than professional qualifications.
However, the investigation also found that financial hardship has pushed some students into riskier income-generating activities.
Several anonymous students admitted selling alcohol or marijuana to meet basic living costs, saying they had few alternatives after losing financial support or being unable to secure bursaries. They described these activities as acts of financial survival rather than career choices.
Universities Call For A National Postgraduate Funding Model
The funding crisis extends beyond current students.
South African universities continue to face growing student debt, while many graduates remain unable to collect their qualification certificates because of outstanding fees. According to figures cited in the report, more than 165,000 graduates are unable to receive their certificates, with total student debt estimated at R59 billion.
Universities say they are expanding bursaries, fundraising initiatives and debt-relief campaigns, but acknowledge these measures cannot replace a sustainable national postgraduate funding system.
The University of Pretoria has launched its Degrees Delivered campaign, aiming to raise R50 million between 2026 and 2028 to assist graduates burdened by historical debt. Since its launch, the initiative has already raised R10.3 million.
Meanwhile, Wits reported providing R466 million in postgraduate funding to 6,520 students during 2025, while the Cape Peninsula University of Technology said 144 postgraduate students had received bursaries worth approximately R14.57 million for the 2026 academic year.
Despite these efforts, universities remain united in their view that South Africa needs a dedicated national postgraduate funding model. They argue that broader financial support would reduce student debt, improve graduation rates, strengthen research output and help develop the highly skilled workforce needed to support the country’s long-term economic growth and innovation.
Source: Daily Maverick.