Educational support for military veterans, dependents

The Department of Military

Veterans provided educational support to 7 712 military veterans and their dependents in 2017.

Department spokesperson Mbulelo Musi said the programme is one of the most critical benefits that the department provides with the view to improve the lives of military veterans and their beneficiaries.

Of those supported, 4 966 were given financial assistance for basic education and 2 746 for tertiary studies.

“The department has paid R177.5 million for the 2017 academic year - R115 million for higher education and training and R62 million for basic education,” Musi said.

The programme has grown tremendously from an initial 200 students supported in 2013 to over 7 700. However, with the rising demand, the department now needs an increased budget to accommodate the spike in applications.

Musi said while the department had planned to support

4 500 military veterans and their dependents in the 2017/18 financial year, the number of beneficiaries supported has climbed to 23 percent more than the original estimate.

“These numbers have increased considerably compared to the department’s forecasting due to the changing socio-economic conditions of military veterans and the increased awareness amongst military veterans about the benefit.

“The department has received 9 645 new applications for the 2018 academic year, a total for both new and continuing,” he added.