Like most South African teenagers, Koketso Mogongoa loves traditional ‘pap-en-vleis” and kwaito, but she’s been indulging in curry and ‘Bollywood” musicals in preparation for a three-year stint in India.
Seventeen-year-old Mogongoa, from Lebowakgomo near Polokwane, is one of six Limpopo students awarded a bursary to study engineering, computer programming, and business administration at Punjab University in Punjab, India.
‘I’m very exited about the trip, but I know it won’t be easy, which is why I started eating curries and listening to Indian music to prepare me for the cultural changes,” Mogongoa said shortly before leaving last month.
The bursaries are part of an exchange programme following a memorandum of understanding signed in November last year between Limpopo and Punjab state to boost Limpopo’s science and technology skills.
‘India is one of the best countries in these fields and these are areas our province needs to develop,” said Vernon Nzama from the Limpopo education department. ‘So, we’re sending the students there because we know they’ll learn the best from the best.”
The university is covering the costs of the full-time bursaries, which include tuition, books and accommodation.
Nzama said the department received more than 2 000 applications, but this was whittled down to 500 and then eventually 30 for interviews.
The top six included Mogongoa, who will study for a Bachelor of Engineering degree for three years.
Another excited student is 24-year-old Farzana Fakir who will be doing a Masters in Business Administration for two years and who had been waiting for an opportunity to visit the land of her ancestors.
‘I’ve never visited India before and I’m very excited,” she said. ‘I know it won’t be easy, but it will most likely be easier for me than the other students because I’ve been exposed to Indian customs, so I’ll do my best to help them.”
The students have been advised on how to budget their money, who to turn to for assistance and what to expect in terms of food, culture and even weather as India is notorious for severe flooding during its rainy monsoon season during June to September.
‘We’ve been advised to buy drinking water until our bodies develop an immunity to local bugs,” said Fakir.
The students will visit home once a year and, once they’ve completed their studies, they will be expected to work in Limpopo for the same number of years for which they studied.
Said Fakir: ‘I have no problem working in Limpopo – in fact, it’s my first preference because it will be my chance to give something back to the province and the country at large. I don’t want to work in another country, I love South Africa.”
India is the seventh largest and second most populous country in the world. It has one of the oldest civilisations, is the largest democratic republic in the world and the world’s sixth nuclear power.
– African Eye News Service