ORPHANS RECEIVE BURSARIES TO FURTHER THEIR STUDIES

A child in Foster Care signing a bursary contract with ETDP SETA at the Head Office in Johannesburg

By Lawrance Mashabela

• The Gauteng Department of Social Development has teamed up with the Education, Training, and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDSETA) to provide bursaries to ten foster children who are performing exceptionally well in Grade 12.

• Awarded at the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s Head Office Auditorium, the bursaries cover full tuition, accommodation, learning materials, and a meal allowance, enabling recipients to pursue various fields of study such as science, technology, occupational therapy, public administration, commerce, and business science.
• Recipients, including Tebogo Maphuruma and Sabelo Biyela, express gratitude for the funding, highlighting its timely assistance and the opportunities it provides for academic achievement despite challenging backgrounds.

A partnership between the Gauteng Department of Social Development and Education, Training, and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDSETA) has enabled ten (10) foster children who performed well in grade 12 to be awarded bursaries to further their studies.

The ten social services beneficiaries were awarded the bursaries by the Education, Training, and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDSETA) at a signing of bursaries’ contracts that took place at the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s Head Office Auditorium in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The bursary will enable these students to pursue careers in different fields of study, such as science, technology, occupational therapy, public administration, commerce, and business science.

Each bursary recipient will receive an amount to the value of one hundred and twenty thousand (120,000) in their first year, which will cover full tuition, accommodation, learning material such as textbooks, laptops, stationery, and a meal allowance.

18-year-old Tebogo Maphuruma from Hamanskraal said she is grateful for the bursary and promised that she will work hard to complete her studies in record time. Maphuruma is enrolled to study for a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Management at the University of Johannesburg. “The bursary came at the right moment when I was struggling to get funding, and I am excited and looking forward to the wonderful journey ahead of me without any stress of funding,” she said.

Another recipient was 18-year-old Sabelo Biyela from Bekkersdal in the West Rand, who is currently studying a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Finance at the University of Witwatersrand (WITS). He encourages other children who are under foster care that it is possible that they can achieve whatever they want to achieve despite their background.

“I am grateful to the department and ETDPSETA for their partnership in ensuring that we get this kind of funding without a hustle,” he added.

According to Gauteng Provincial Administrator Lindokuhle Hlongwana, ETDPSETA was established to address some of the funding crises within the higher education sector and to widen access to quality higher education for young people with exceptional academic achievement but without any means to pursue their studies.

Picture by Winnie Moningi