Support education causes: businessman

A KWAZULU-NATAL businessman has challenged his contemporaries and wealthy people to become philanthropists and assist with bursaries for those who have excelled in matric.

Razak Moosa, the chief executive officer of the Willowton Group, yesterday helped four matriculants from the AM Moolla Spes Nova School in Phoenix with tertiary education bursaries.

The school’s matric class of 2016 – Kuthula Xaba, 21, Thabiso Shoba, 24, Xolani Nkabinde, 20, and Resham Bansee, 20 – were recently featured in the Daily News after its 100% matric bachelor pass rate.

The quartet will study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the Mangosuthu University of Technology and the Afda Film School. The bursaries would last the duration of their studies, provided that they pass each year.

Moosa said that his humble beginnings meant that he had to assume the responsibility of supporting those in need. His daughter Ghazala’s disability had also instilled greater awareness in him about helping disabled pupils academically.

Ghazala attended the school in the early 1980s.

Moosa said they would meet with a UKZN official to discuss student accommodation for Xaba and Shoba.

“Our concept is to awaken businesses and wealthy people to support education, especially for young people who want to go to university but face hardships with high tuition fees and the government having limited funding,” said Moosa.

Xaba, studying towards a law degree, begins his tertiary journey next Monday. He obtained three distinctions in the matric exams.

Shoba would be studying for a BA degree, majoring in law.

Nkabinde starts a public management course at the Mangosuthu University of Technology today.

On Monday, Bansee will start studying at Afda for a film-making degree. He also received a bursary from the national Department of Arts and Culture,

The four also received R10 000 each from their school to help towards their education.