Noordelike Helpmekaar Studiefonds Study Loan

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The Noordelike Helpmekaar-Studiefonds (NHS) is a non-profit study loan fund in Cresta, Johannesburg, registered as a credit provider (NCRCP3632). It lends students up to R80,000 a year for class fees, residence and textbooks, and charges three percentage points below prime while the student is studying. One application covers the whole course. The fund’s information letter says applications for 2027 opened on 1 August 2026, and applications go to the board in November; no closing date is published.

The NHS traces its roots to the Helpmekaar movement that started in Bethlehem after the 1914 Rebellion, when communities raised money to pay the rebels’ fines and damages. Money left over after the debts were settled was used for study loans. The Transvaal association was wound up in 1953 and refounded in 1962, and it grew into today’s fund. It is a separate organisation from the Cape-based Helpmekaar Studiefonds, with its own rates and forms. The NHS website and forms are in Afrikaans.

Eight loan terms the NHS lists

1. Up to R80,000 a year for class fees, residence and textbooks.
2. Interest at prime minus 3% during the study years and prime afterwards.
3. Two years of repayment for every year of study.
4. Merit awards for outstanding academic results.
5. Each year’s loan is paid out in two halves: the first at the start of the year, the second after good results.
6. A debit order to secure repayment.
7. Compulsory group insurance on the loan.
8. Passing the year is a condition for the loan to continue.

The institution must be accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training. The fund’s success stories show borrowers at universities such as Pretoria, Wits, Cape Town, North-West, Unisa and Akademia, and also a student training as a hairdresser, so the loan is not limited to degrees.

What the loan agreement adds

The 2026 loan agreement sets out the detail behind the headline terms:

• Interest is compounded monthly and linked to Absa’s prime overdraft rate, which the fund recalculates every January. The student pays the interest monthly by debit order while studying.
• Before the end of each calendar year the student must report in writing on the year’s studies and results. The next year’s money is paid only after the year is passed, at the fund’s discretion.
• Repayment starts the month after the course is completed, in equal monthly instalments over no more than twice the study period. Early settlement is allowed at any time.
• If the student drops out or breaches the contract, the full loan and interest become payable at once, and the rate can rise to prime (or two points above prime after studies).
• Graduates doing compulsory state service without an extra salary, or a practical internship or articles, may ask for different repayment terms; during an internship or articles they must at least keep paying the interest.
• Group life insurance premiums are added to the loan, and the policy is ceded to the fund as security.

Sureties sign as co-principal debtors

Every NHS loan needs sureties (“borge”), usually the parents, who bind themselves as sureties and co-principal debtors. The application form allows for two. Each surety completes a personal declaration with an income and expenditure statement, and supplies a certified ID copy, payslips, an IRP5 and three months of bank statements. The application also gives the fund permission to run credit bureau checks on the student and the sureties. If a surety dies or becomes insolvent, the student must find a replacement.

Forms, commissioner of oaths and hand delivery

The NHS application page has the forms as PDFs: an information letter, the student’s application, a personal declaration for each surety, a deed of suretyship and the loan agreement. The student’s pack includes a certified ID copy (an originally certified document, not a copy of one), a testimonial from the school principal and a referee’s details, achievement certificates and the latest results; matric final results can be emailed later. The loan agreement and the deed of suretyship must be signed before a commissioner of oaths, and both carry the total for the whole course, for example R80,000 multiplied by the number of study years.

The fund does not accept emailed applications. Originals are delivered by hand or courier to 43 Woodley Road, Cresta, 2194, Mondays to Thursdays from 08:00 to 13:00 and Fridays from 08:00 to 12:00. The NHS suggests scanning the completed forms and sending them to admin@nhsfonds.co.za first, so that staff can check them before the applicant pays for a courier. The office can also be reached on 011 782 9160. The board considers applications in November, and applicants hear in the second week of November whether they were approved.

For a commercial alternative, compare the Absa student loan and the Standard Bank student loan, or look for funding that need not be repaid among the undergraduate bursaries.

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