Students do not have to reimburse the Department of Basic Education for having benefited or awarded a Funza Lushaka Bursary.
Bursary holders sign a Bursary Agreement at the beginning of every year of being awarded the bursary.
The agreement sets out the conditions for being awarded the bursary.
Media Liaison, Provincial and National Communication, Balosang Sanki Lerefolo said: “A key feature of the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme is that it is linked to a service obligation upon completion of a teaching qualification.
“This means that after graduation a bursary holder must immediately assume a teaching position in a public school.
“Graduates are placed by a provincial education department to teach in a public school in which a teacher is needed. Each year of service will repay one full-time year of bursary-assisted study,” said Lerefolo.
Lerefolo said a student is awarded the bursary for each year of successful university study.
“This means that a student may be awarded four times in the process of completing a BEd degree.
“More than 26,000 students have graduated through the bursary scheme since its inception in 2007,” said Lerefolo.
The general criterion for award of the bursary is as follows:
- The applicant must be a South African citizen;
- The applicant must be accepted into an approved Bachelors in Education (BEd) degree or Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme to specialize in two or more of the priority areas stipulated by the Funza Lushaka bursary programme;
- The applicant should demonstrate good academic ability;
- The applicant must show commitment to a teaching career, which includes: interest in working with young people; enthusiasm for a professional career in teaching; readiness to face and surmount difficult challenges and personal integrity;
- The applicant must be committed to teach in any school to which a student may be placed by a Provincial Education Department (PED); and
- Selection should favour candidates from rural areas and/or high density informal settlements. Candidates will be required to sign a contract indicating to teach at schools in rural areas and/or high density informal settlements.
For more information visit www.funzalushaka.doe.gov.za
