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The bursary programme

Fifty bursaries for previously disadvantaged learners

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:00

By Gabi Khumalo

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele will award bursaries to 50 previously disadvantaged learners to pursue careers in critical and scarce skills.

The initiative forms part of a skills development partnership, between the provincial Office of the Premier and the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education Training Authority (ETDP SETA), on bursaries for critical and scarce skills.

The bursary programme will focus on disciplines including Maths and Science, Leadership and Management, Information Communication and Technology, Accounting, Financial Management and Economics with a focus in the Education and Training Development Sector.

One of the recipients includes a 22 year-old Nokubonga Msiya from Umlazi, who is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Ms Msiya’s worries started in 2000 when her father, who was the breadwinner in the family, passed away.

Two years later, she was shot on her spinal cord whilst coming from church with her younger sister and was left paralyzed for the rest of her life.

“I could not complete my Grade 11 and for a long period I stayed at home because I did not have any money to further my studies.

“In 2004 my mother became ill and passed away leaving me, the eldest child in the family as the guardian of my two brothers and three sisters, no one was working and we survived with my disability grant,” said Ms Msiya.

After a long time being at home and not studying, Ms Msiya met Rev. Nombuso Maphalala from the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons, in the provincial Office of the Premier who made her dreams come true.

Through Ms Maphalala’s assistance who found a school, Ms Msiya was able to go back to school and successfully completed her Matric at Maison Lincon Special School in 2007 with two Merits and two Distinctions.

“The Office of the Premier supported me for the two years at school, now the Office of the Premier has even awarded me a bursary to study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and I am so grateful,” said an elated Ms Msiya.

Office of the Premier said in a statement that critical to the socio-economic development of KwaZulu-Natal is the need to have a workforce that has the necessary skills to support the growth sectors.

“The province, like the rest of the country, is affected by the phenomena of an acute shortage of critical and scarce skills,” the Premier’s Office said.

The office said that in order to deal with the challenges of critical and scarce skills, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGISA) and Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) programmes were implemented.

“JIPSA, in particular, calls on various role-players in the sphere of education, training and development to collaborate and partner in dealing with the lack of skills thereby responding to the needs of our economy,” said the Premier’s Office.

The ceremony will take place at the KwaZulu-Natal Public Service Academy in Glenwood where the Premier and Chief Executive Officer of the ETDP SETA, Ms Sesi Nombulelo Nxesi will also officially launch the partnership.

- BuaNews