Three learners to further their studies at varsity, thanks to PET
The trust is a community social investment initiative of Emperors Palace.
Three deserving youngsters from Vosloorus have been given all-expenses paid scholarships valued at R170 000 each by the Peermont Education Trust (PET).
After a stringent selection and interview process the lucky candidates, Lebogo Boikgantsho, Mbali Senzani and Zekhu Kheswa, received their official scholarship letters at an induction function at Emperors Palace on the morning of January 24.
For Senzani, who has always been interested in nature, this scholarship is an answer to all her prayers.
The former Lethulwazi Comprehensive School learner, who obtained two distinctions at the end of last year, said: “Cats would come into my room and a rabbit sneaked its way into our yard and lived there, and because of these experiences I developed a strong bond with nature and I decided to follow a career in ecology.”
As her mother is a domestic worker, her father unemployed and their only means of a solid income is the support they get from Senzani’s brother, who works at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, her dream seemed out of reach.
But, thanks to the PET she can now start her BSc in ecology studies at the University of Pretoria without any financial worries.
Kheswa, also a Lethulwazi matriculant, who dreams of making music is happy to be heading to the University of the Witwatersrand to start his bachelor of music degree.
After his parents divorced the aspiring muso moved to Vosloorus to stay with his uncle;unfortunately, his uncle died before he matriculated. Determined to have a chance to change his life and bring value to others, Kheswa worked hard and obtained one distinction in his last year at school which helped him in his quest to get a PET scholarship.
The third recipient, Boikgantsho, who matriculated with two distinctions from Masithwalisane Secondary School, will be heading to the University of Johannesburg to study BCom accounting, also thanks to the trust.
Apart from having their tuition and accommodation expenses covered, getting books and a laptop each, the trust also provides a comprehensive mentorship programme for scholarship recipients to enable them to cope and develop new skills during their time at university.
The programme covers study skills, emotional intelligence and employability. Monthly mentorship meetings are also held with the students to ensure that they receive the much-needed socio-psychological support required.
“Over the years, we have found that we are able to increase our graduation rate by offering learners additional support throughout the year. To this end the trust has an impressive 85 per cent graduation rate compared to the national graduation rate of 22 per cent. This is exceptional considering that the learners hail from township schools,” commented trust manager Jenny Findlay.
