Academic returns to inspire Ndlambe pupils
If you’re a young person living in Kwa-Nonkqubelo township in Alexandria, it can be difficult to see beyond your dusty street, let alone imagine a successful future in a bigger world.
Dr Nesizwe Titi knows this because she grew up there.
When she left school, she studied psychology and now works as a researcher and children’s rights advocate at the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town. She recently used her personal and professional networks to bring seven tertiary institutions and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to Ukhanyo Secondary School in Kwa-Nonkqubelo.
So it was that on a wet, cold Saturday, Eastcape Midlands College and Port Elizabeth TVET College, the universities Fort Hare, Nelson Mandela, Rhodes, Cape Town and Western Cape told Ndlambe pupils everything they needed to know about their academic and technical offerings, and how to access them.
In addition, Dr Luvuyo Bayeni briefed pupils on healthrelated careers. Talk of the Town caught up with Titi, wearing her bright red mortarboard, in between classrooms as she ensured groups rotated between the institutions’ information stations.
“When I was at high school, an event like this never happened.
“I also realised Alexandria took ownership of my work. Whenever I would speak somewhere, they would make sure everyone knows.
“It’s my desire for children from this area to know how to access higher education. My observation has been that they don’t,” she said.
That changed on July 23 for close to 200 pupils from Ukhanyo,
Kamvelisizwe, Nompucuko and Alexandria high schools.
Ukhanyo principal Mthuthuzeli Jonas said described the event as an eye-opener for pupils, who realised that even if they did not have money, NSFAS meant they still had a hope of getting into tertiary study.
Senior education official Ntomboxolo Ntanga said: “It’s one thing to talk about careers on paper, in a life orientation lesson; here they are hearing and seeing what is expected and how to get there.”
Jonas said Titi had inspired the pupils to realise that nothing was impossible.