In 2009, Gauteng Department of Education started an endowment project aimed at awarding bursaries to Top 3 matric pupils.
The maximum bursary is worth R55 000 per academic year at a Higher Education Institution and the allocation includes registration fees, tuition fees and prescribed books.
Approximately 2600 pupils benefitted from this bursary project.
Those are Top 3 Grade 12 pupils from no-fee paying schools, Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP) and Learners from Special Education Needs Schools (LSEN) government schools in Gauteng.
The department sees this as a way to motivate pupils to pull up their socks.
GDE spokesperson Oupa Bodibe said: “It motivates pupils from the above-mentioned schools to work hard knowing that there will be financial assistance for them to further their studies and create a better livelihood for themselves.”