SRC reaches quarter mark in drive to raise R1m for students
WITS University ’ s student representative council (SRC) wants to raise R1million by the end of the month to pay registration fees for students who didn ’ t receiveNational Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding.
Their “1 Million 1 Month ” campaign has even received the attention of human rights lawyer and struggle veteran George Bizos, who has become its ambassador.
Sowetan reported last month that 2 668 senior students at the university did not receive funding from the scheme.
But the number has gone up to 2 788 students and now includes first-year students, according to SRC president Mcebo Dlamini.
Dlamini yesterday said the student council launched the campaign on Sunday after realising that mostly first-year students would be de-registered by the university if they did not raise the funds.
“We decided that while negotiations between the minister [of higher education and training Blade Nzimande] and the university are ongoing for further funding we needed to do something because the university was going to be forced to de-register the students,” he said.
“We came up with this concept [to] raise funds and register these students because the minister [Nzimande] might make a decision in March.”
Dlamini said the campaign was doing well and most people welcomed it.
“The VC [vice-chancellor] Adam Habib gave us R120 000, all five deputy vice-chancellors gave us R1 000 each, and the five deans have pledged to give us R1 000,” he said.
Habib told Sowetan yesterday that the money he donated was what was left from a research grant he received from the Oppenheimer Foundation years ago. He had even concluded that research.
“I never used all the money and they [Oppenheimer Foundation] asked me what I wanted to do with it, and I said I will be happy to support the cause. They released it to me and Wits contributed to the campaign, ” he said.
Bizos told Sowetan that he found out about the campaign on Wednesday and decided that he wanted to be part of it.
“I [am] a graduate from the university. My father was a shop assistant and I struggled to pay my fees and so I wanted to be of assistance to people who are fit enough and qualified to be at Wits but don ’ t have money, ” he said.
“We as graduates of the university should really help to enable disadvantaged students to study and I promised them [SRC] that I will make my contribution.”
Dlamini said people were making a contribution every day and so far they had collected R250 000 which they would use to pay the R9 460 registration fee for students. The last day of registration is February 28.
Wits chief financial officer Linda Jarvis told Sowetan that the university had limited funds from the scheme this year.
“The university received approximately R179-million from NSFAS in 2015, about 5% up from last year ’ s allocation. However, student fees have escalated by 10% from 2014 to 2015. The majority of the NSFAS funds have been prioritised for returning students, but there are many who will have to pay their own way, ” she said.
However, Jarvis said the university was doing all it could to try and assist needy students.