**Abstract**

With the political policy of *Apartheid* that was followed in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s, educational funds (and opportunities) were spread very unequally between racial groups. *Non-white* students were totally underrepresented at universities. This, and the high cost of university education led to the introduction of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in 1991 to make higher education more affordable to poor students in South Africa. Funds spent by the government on higher education and the number of students helped through NSFAS since 1995 will be analysed. Using individual data, the throughput rates of NSFAS students are discussed in relation to non-NFAS students as well as to see how their performance changed over time. NSFAS students outperform non-NSFAS students – a higher percentage of each first-time first-year cohorts obtain qualifications and a smaller percentage drop out of the system without qualifications. NSFAS funds alone were not responsible to increase the number of students from poorer communities. However, NSFAS did contribute substantially to getting poorer students into the higher education system and the greater financial stability (that comes with less financial risks) motivated poorer students to stay longer in the system until they obtained their qualifications.

**Keywords:** poor students, higher education access, National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) of South Africa, higher education funding, throughput rates of students
