Students who have applied for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding will know on January 5 2020 whether their applications were successful.

"Funding decisions will be communicated to applicants via the MyNSFAS portal, therefore all applicants are advised to check and track their application status updates online," NSFAS spokesperson Kagisho Mamabolo said.

He said the scheme would also notify applicants with missing supporting documents to upload these documents online via MyNSFAS portal.

"Applicants are urged to be vigilant and cautious during this period in order to avoid misinformation and potential scams. All status updates will be communicated online via MyNSFAS portal," said Mamabolo.

He added that the NSFAS contact centre would be unavailable from December 17 to January 3.

"The shutting down of services will allow NSFAS to process and conclude all funding decisions," he said.