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14 August 2020 | Story Amanda Tongha | Photo NSFAS
Applications for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) 2021 are now open.  

The NSFAS application cycle will run for a period of four months starting from 3 August to 30 November 2020. 

NSFAS applications are open to students from poor and working-class backgrounds who wish to further their studies at any public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college or university. To qualify for NSFAS funding, the applicant must be a South African citizen; come from a family with a combined annual household income of not more than R350 000; for students with a disability, a combined annual household income of not more than R600 000. 

Applications for 2021 funding will be completed online via the myNSFAS portal as per previous years. 

New applicants need a copy of their ID or birth certificate to register and create a myNSFAS account or profile on the myNSFAS portal. Applicants with existing accounts must log on to their accounts to complete an application. Applicants are not allowed to create more than one profile on the portal. The applicant will be required to give consent to NSFAS to verify their personal information with third parties and will not be able to create a profile without giving this consent. This feature allows NSFAS to conduct a three-step verification process with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), where an ID number will be linked to the name and surname of the applicant and the parents' details. 

In response to the status quo due to the COVID-19 pandemic, applicants will not be required to submit or upload the consent form; however, they will have to grant consent electronically during the application process, along with accepting the terms and conditions for funding. 

Applicants will, however, still be required to submit their supporting documents, comprising a copy of own ID; parents’/guardian's proof of income; copies of parents’/guardian's ID; and/or Annexure A for applicants with disabilities. 

Qualifying students are urged to make use of this opportunity and apply for funding in time. 

 
 

News Archive

OSM Camerata first place winner in international competition
2017-09-08

Description: Camerata Tags: OSM Camerata, Ictus International Music Competition, Marius Coetzee, Odeion School of Music 

The OSM Camerata with conductors, Xavier Cloete and
Gerhard de Jager received first place in the
University/Conservatory Orchestra category.
Photo: Supplied



The OSM Camerata received first place in the 2017 Ictus International Music Competition for bands and orchestras. Marius Coetzee from the Odeion School of Music at the University of the Free State said: “The award was announced in time for the celebration of the orchestra’s fifth birthday.”

OSM a catalyst for excellence
The OSMC was strategically founded in 2012 by Coetzee as the OSM’s flagship chamber ensemble, with the main objective of creating a catalyst for excellence.

Over the past five years, the OSMC has premiered 15 new works by South African composers specially commissioned for them. Highlights remain its participation in the 13th International Conservatory Festival in St Petersburg Russia, where the ensemble received a standing ovation during a gala concert in the Glazunov Concert Hall, as well as the world première of the Cello Concerto for an African Cellist by South African composer, Hans Huyssen, with South African cellist, Heleen du Plessis as soloist. The CD was released in 2014 on the New Zealand Classical Music label, Ode Records in Auckland, New Zealand and was one of five CDs nominated for the Listeners' Choice Award New York in March 2014.

Competition draws participation from Washington to Bloemfontein
The inaugural year of this annual competition drew applicants from Washington State in the US all the way to Bloemfontein in the Free State. Video submissions were judged and narrowed down to a final round from which prize winners were selected.

The OSM Camerata with conductors, Xavier Cloete and Gerhard De Jager, received first place in the University/Conservatory Orchestra category. 

The competition was founded to highlight the work that music educators, conductors, students, performers and community members make in ensembles at the university, community, youth, high school and middle school levels. 

Competition director, Alex Serio says that “many people do not realise the amount of work that it takes to make these ensembles run. What is more is that most of the public does not realise the level of artistic excellence that can be achieved in these ensembles. Ictus International Music Competition was founded to highlight this level

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