In 1995, Thabo Dikobe’s* goal was to become an electrical engineer. His mind was set and nothing was going to prevent him from realising his dream.
He started his studies at the former Johannesburg Technical College (JTC), but in his third term misfortune struck. His parents divorced and his mother, a domestic worker, could not afford to pay for his studies. Having tried in vain to secure a bursary or scholarship, Dikobe was forced to drop out of college.
Since early 2006 there have been rumblings about ways to financially assist students, like Dikobe, who are studying at further education and training (FET) colleges. Coupled with an alarming decrease in the number of artisans, the government was forced to look at ways to attract students to FET colleges and to provide financial assistance. The outcome is the FET financial aid scheme.
Last year the department of education set aside R100-million for the commencement of the bursary scheme in the 2007 and 2008 academic year. Between 2008 and 2010, the department will spend about R500-million educating artisans. In addition, in his the national budget speech, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel announced that an extra R600-million would be made available for FET bursaries.
All students studying towards a national certificate (vocational) or NCV qualifications in 11 programmes are eligible for the bursary. The NCV is the new, modern qualification that FET colleges have been introducing from this year.
Penny Vinjevold, deputy director general of FET in the education department, said that household income and academic ability were the criteria used to select students.
Vinjevold said that FET colleges throughout the country currently boast more than 400 000 students and that 25 000 of these students are fully registered on the new bursary scheme.
The project is managed by the National Students Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa in collaboration with the education department.
Allan Taylor, CEO of the scheme, said the amount allocated to each student would depend on his or her courses. He said course fees cost between R3 000 and R6 000, so students would probably receive funding in this range.
Taylor added that if students fail, they would be taken out of the programme.
The FET bursary has thrown a lifeline to many technical college dropouts. The bursary could give them a chance to work towards the careers that were almost lost to them because of everyday socio-economic struggles.
But for Dikobe, the helping hand has come too late. Who, he asks would feed his wife and two children if he went back to study full-time?
*Not his real name