Old rugga bugga gives Wits R150m

● When outgoing Wits University vice-chancellor Adam Habib bumped into billionaire businessman Natie Kirsh, right , on a flight in December 2018, they continued a previous discussion about funding the “missing middle” students.

These students are not eligible for funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) because their total household income exceeds R350,000 a year. They are believed to number about 15,000.

This week the Kirsh Foundation agreed to give R150m to its student endowment fund.

Kirsh, 88, who graduated with a BCom degree from Wits in 1953, is listed 624th on Forbes’s world billionaire list. He is worth of $4.1bn, according to Forbes.

Habib met Kirsh in February 2018 when funding for the university’s centenary was discussed. Wits will turn 100 in 2022. The campaign aims to find R3bn for the student endowment fund as well as money for research chairs and investments in infrastructure and equipment.

Habib said: “It is imperative for all sectors of society to invest in research-intensive universities.”

The R150m will be invested and the income earned will be used to pay for about 50 bursaries each year.

Wits vice-chancellor-designate Zeblon Vilakazi said the endowment fund “will go a long way towards transforming the lives of talented Wits students”.

Kirsh said the university had played an integral role in transforming his life.

When he visited Wits in 2019, the rugby club presented him with a jersey. Kirsh played in the Wits University under-20 team during his student days.