250 Wits students to receive funding from Absa
BRAAMFONTEIN - 250 Wits students will have bursaries awarded to them after ABSA bank donated R10 million.
As students across the country have been protesting for free education, 250 Wits University students won’t have to worry about funding for their studies as Absa donated R10 million to the university.
The money will go towards funding the poor and the missing middle students who have been protesting for free education for all since the Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande announced that varsities across the country could raise fees by up to eight per cent, which enraged students.
According to a statement by the university, they will allocate the funds towards supporting a minimum of 250 students. The statement added that the funding was in addition to the annual R2 million, 10-year sponsorship of 20 Wits University bursary students, who are contracted to join Absa on completion of their studies.
Wits University’s vice-chancellor, Professor Adam Habib said they were appreciative of the additional contribution from Absa. “This will go a long way in assisting poor, talented students at Wits University to complete their programmes.”
He added that Wits University and many other universities offered quality degrees that are recognised worldwide, and if they were going to keep universities functional and retain the quality, then they needed to ensure that all the stakeholders participate in the university system, and the private sector was one such participant.
Habib explained that the private sector played a pivotal role in the ongoing success of universities in South Africa.
CEO of Absa, Maria Ramos said they felt a responsibility to make a contribution while long-term solutions to higher education funding were being developed. “We trust that this contribution will assist Wits University to make quality education more accessible to the youth of South Africa,” she said.
