In January this year, we were super excited to announce that our matric class of 2015 had achieved a staggering 80% pass rate, beating the national average by 9%. Passing matric, however, is only the first hurdle that South African youth need to clear, in order to set themselves on the path towards earning a dignified living. IkamvaYouth strives to ensure that our learners access post school opportunities in the form of tertiary studies, learnerships/other apprenticeship programmes, and employment. IkamvaYouth are pleased to report an overall 90% placement rate for our class of 2015, an increase from last year’s 85%!
56% of the learners who passed are now pursuing tertiary studies, enrolled in a wide range of courses this year. The fields of study being pursued the most this year are science & engineering, with an impressive 25% of the cohort pursuing qualifications in these areas, followed by a close 19% of the learners enrolled in commercial studies. Other courses being pursued by our class of 2016 include Psychology, Legal studies, Nursing, Maritime studies, and Media/Marketing related studies.
After the excitement of passing matric, and then getting accepted into tertiary, our learners have to contend with yet another hurdle: accessing funds to finance their studies. While we are concerned about the high number of learners who have not yet secured funding for their studies this year, we are really pleased that most (57%) have secured funding through study loans (mostly through NSFAS: 43%) and bursaries/scholarships. We are particularly proud of these Ikamvanites who managed to secure bursaries/scholarships:
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Palesa Machabela from the Ebony Park branch received a university entrance bursary to study Human Life Sciences at the University of Stellenbosch.
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Thabang Rankeng, also from Ebony Park was awarded by the Gauteng City Region Academy, for being among the top three performing learners in his school. He is now studying towards a BSc (Chemistry) degree at Wits.
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Chumisa Yapi from Makhaza was awarded a university entrance bursary by UCT, to study towards a BSc degree.
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6 learners were awarded the prestigious Moshal Scholarship: Wandile Majozi and Nhlanhla Mabaso from Chesterville, both studying towards Bcom (accounting) degrees at UKZN; as well as 4 learners from Ebony Park: Puledi Chipape (Geological Sciences at Wits), Kefilwe Maake (Mechanical Engineering at UCT), Sharon Maota (Biological Sciences at Wits), and Onkarabile Kau (Computer Science at the University of Pretoria).
Here’s what 2 of the bursary recipients had to say:
“Ikamva has taught me the reward of focus and preparation especially when it comes to post matric preparation. Honestly without IkamvaYouth I would not have been heading into the bright future I am heading into today (Going to Stellenbosch University, my parents not having to pay for my fees)” – Palesa Machabela
“I feel very happy and blessed that the Moshal program granted me this scholarship. I really feel special and thank the program for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to further my studies. … Receiving the scholarship means … the world to me… it showed me that some people out there believe in me and have faith that I can do wonders in this field.” – Puledi Chipape
Congrats on getting your feet through the door towards a brighter future, Ikamvanites! We are so proud of what you’ve achieved so far, and are so looking forward to seeing you realise your dreams.
Lloyd Lungu