Scholarships and Bursaries for Students with Disabilities in Africa
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Oct 27, 2025 • African Scholarships & Student Funding
Students with disabilities in Africa can combine national financial aid, university disability offices, and NGO support to fund tuition and assistive needs. South Africa's NSFAS covers tuition, accommodation, and assistive devices for eligible students with disabilities at all 26 public universities.
Apply to your national financial aid scheme first for tuition and living costs.
🏠 Contact the university's disability support office before you register.
Prepare a medical or professional assessment of your specific needs.
Budget for costs national aid might not fully cover, like personal assistants or adapted transport.
International charities like Leonard Cheshire run country-specific education programs.
Start with Your National Financial Aid Scheme
Most African countries run a national student financial aid body that includes provisions for students with disabilities, on top of standard tuition and living cost support. In South Africa, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds eligible students with disabilities toward a first undergraduate degree or diploma at any of the country's 26 public universities, covering tuition, accommodation, meals, learning materials, and assistive devices such as wheelchairs, screen-reading software, and adapted computers, according to a South African government publication .
Check whether your own country's student loan or grant scheme, such as Kenya's HELB, Tanzania's HESLB, or Nigeria's NELFUND, runs a similar disability allowance or priority category. Rules and amounts differ by country and change from year to year.
What Counts as a Qualifying Disability
Definitions vary by scheme, but most cover physical, visual, hearing, and certain chronic health or learning disabilities, provided you submit a medical or professional assessment. Some schemes require the assessment from a specific government-approved list of practitioners, so confirm the accepted format before you pay for one.
University Disability Support Offices
Most public universities run a disability or access support office separate from the general financial aid office. These offices assess your specific needs, from sign language interpretation to extended exam time, note-takers, or accessible housing, and some hold a small bursary or hardship fund on top of national aid.
Contact this office before you register, not after classes start. Early contact gives the university time to arrange interpreters, adapted materials, or accessible accommodation for your first semester.
| Support type | Who typically funds it |
|---|---|
| Tuition and basic living costs | National financial aid scheme, such as NSFAS |
| Assistive devices: wheelchairs, screen readers, adapted computers | National aid disability allowance or university disability office |
| Interpreters, note-takers, exam accommodations | University disability support office |
| Advocacy, transport, community programs | NGOs such as Leonard Cheshire, country dependent |
Continental and Regional Commitments
The African Union has a continental disability rights framework that commits member states to remove barriers to education, including higher education, and to plan reasonable accommodation in university admissions and campus infrastructure. How far a country has put this into practice varies widely, so treat the framework as a policy backdrop, not a direct source of funding.
International and NGO-run Support
International disability charities such as Leonard Cheshire run advocacy and, in some countries, direct programs supporting access to education and livelihoods for people with disabilities, including university-linked initiatives in parts of Africa. Search for the charity's current country program directly, since active projects and funding change by location and year.
Documents to Prepare
A medical or professional assessment confirming your disability and specific needs
Proof of household income for need-based schemes
Academic transcripts and your admission letter or offer
A short statement describing the assistive support or accommodation you need at university
Budget for Costs National Aid Might Not Cover
Even generous schemes rarely cover every disability-related cost, such as a personal assistant, transport adapted for a wheelchair user, or the newest assistive technology. Build a realistic budget before you commit to a university, and ask the disability office directly which specific costs they fund fully, partly, or not at all.
How to Apply
Apply to your national financial aid scheme first, since it covers the largest share of tuition and living costs for most students. Apply to your target university's disability office in parallel, and ask specifically what assistive devices or accommodations they provide directly versus what you must source through national aid or an NGO.
Start both applications as early as your admission letter allows. Assessments for assistive devices and accommodation plans take longer to process than a standard financial aid file.