The Free State Provincial Government pays for full-time study through a bursary programme run by the Office of the Premier in Bloemfontein. For the 2027 academic year the Office of the Premier has moved applications onto a new online system, which shows an application window from 21 September 2026 to 13 November 2026. The Premier’s website still links a 2018 paper form, so ignore it and use the online system.
Apply on the Free State Office of the Premier’s online bursary application system. The address sits on a Free State Department of Health server, but the system’s own user manual names the Office of the Premier as the owner, so this is the correct place to apply.
Who the Premier’s programme is meant for
The online system’s manual describes the programme as funding for unemployed young people who live in the Free State and want to study an approved field at an accredited institution of higher learning. Current matriculants upload their latest results; students already studying upload their academic results instead.
The province ties the bursary to skills it struggles to find. The Premier’s bursary page highlights Mathematics, Science, Technology and Accountancy, and the Free State Online bursary page lists these scarce-skills professions:
- Agricultural sciences and veterinary sciences
- Chartered accounting
- Civil and electrical engineering
- Environmental sciences
- Information and communication technology
- Medicine and social work
The Office of the Premier also weighs household income, orphanhood and disability when it selects bursary holders. The province has not published a separate 2027 priority list on its websites, so check the qualification options inside the online form before you choose a course.
Six uploads the online form asks for
- Your South African ID
- Proof that you live in the Free State
- Your Grade 12 certificate or your latest academic results
- Proof of acceptance, or provisional admission, from an accredited institution
- Household income proof for a parent or guardian, or an affidavit where that applies
- Any other document the programme requests on the upload screen
From sign-up to submitted: the Free State portal step by step
- Open the portal and click “Sign up”. Choose the “full time” bursary type and enter your names, ID number, email address and a password.
- Find the “New Account” email from FS Bursary Admin and click “Activate Account”. Check your spam folder if it doesn’t arrive.
- Log in and complete the four parts of the application: Personal Info, Additional Info, Qualification Info and Document Upload. Tick the declaration and submit each part before moving on.
- Upload the compulsory documents. The manual lets you return later to add supporting documents, but only until 13 November 2026.
- Open “View Application” to confirm every section shows a tick, and keep the acknowledgement email the system sends.
How a Free State application moves through review
A bursary official first checks each application for complete, authentic documents and declines those that miss the minimum requirements. A supervisor then measures the survivors against the province’s skills priorities. The Provincial Bursary Technical Committee makes the final recommendation, looking at academic potential, financial need, how relevant the programme is and how much money is available. A delegated official approves the list, and the system emails each applicant the outcome; successful students then receive a bursary contract.
Free State Online says the bursary covers tuition, accommodation and stationery, and that bursary holders must finish their studies in the minimum time and then work in the Free State for as long as the province funded them. Read the contract carefully before you sign it.
Students from the eastern Free State can also look at the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality bursary. To compare how another province runs its scheme, see the KZN provincial government bursaries, or browse every government bursary on the site.
Reaching the Office of the Premier
The Premier’s bursary page lists the Office of the Premier at the 4th floor, OR Tambo Building, corner of St Andrew and Markgraaf Streets, Bloemfontein. Phone 051 405 5799 or email premier@fspremier.gov.za.
Why does the application site have a Department of Health address?
The Office of the Premier’s online bursary system runs on a server at fshealth.gov.za. The user manual, issued by the Office of the Premier on 31 August 2026, gives that address as the official log-in page.
Can I submit now and add documents later?
Yes, for supporting documents. The compulsory documents must go in with the form, but the manual allows you to come back and upload supporting documents until the closing date of 13 November 2026.