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Scholarship graduates' futures on the rise

Dreams have finally been realised for some of South Africa's future leaders and entrepreneurs at the Tertiary School in Business Administration's (TSiBA) annual Graduation Ceremony. Graduates come from diverse backgrounds all over the country, but are united by their determination to study despite financial and personal challenges.

TSiBA is a unique non-profit business school founded in 2004 which awards scholarships to young people with potential to study accredited TSiBA business qualifications focussed on entrepreneurship and leadership. Rather than pay back their scholarships monetarily, students are required to Pay it Forward transferring knowledge, skills and resources they gain at TSiBA back into their communities.

“Access to tertiary studies through scholarships are even more relevant in context of the current education crisis in South Africa with the recent #feesmustfall protests. Sadly, over 20 years post-democracy, there is a sense of overall fatigue as access to education has not improved markedly. This is the eye of the storm in which TSiBA placed its focus over twelve years ago to drive social change and play a role in providing access, an holistic education and produce employable graduates for corporate South Africa,” explains Adri Marais, TSiBA CEO and co-founder.

Marais continues, “While it may not be practical for a country with our financial and economic means to offer free education to all higher education learners we are definitely in a position to do a lot better. In terms of the efficient use of budgets, resources, subsidies and corporate support as well as Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) also working towards addressing Eurocentric curricula. This approach recognises that a focus on ‘knowledge-production’ in isolation of the development of ‘the self’, as well as practical skills, will not produce the employable graduates South Africa requires. TSiBA students experience all of these and are inspiring; whilst they joined ranks to express solidarity with their peers protesting from public universities, they were also vocal in their gratitude as they (re)discovered the benefit of TSiBA’s funded qualifications. This possibly explains why 96% of TSiBA degree graduates are either employed, active entrepreneurs or studying at postgraduate level.”

“TSiBA balances the curriculum with both academic content and experiential learning and is premised on a set of values which aims to produce knowledgeable, work ready, savvy graduates and leaders. TSiBA’s academic model, the ‘Profile of Graduateness’, places attitude at the heart of a student’s development. In this model, skills and knowledge are layered around attitude, thus capturing the journey our students experience from gaining an understanding of ‘the self’ to a true compassion for and understanding of ‘the other’. Individuals selected are nurtured to grow in confidence and acquire the values, attributes and behaviour of a leader. TSiBA seeks to ensure that students are equipped not only for further study and the working world, but also to develop a social conscience and the skills to build our nation,” explains TSiBA Dean Pearl Pugin.

The significance of this momentous milestone was summed up by 25-year-old TSiBA 2016 Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) graduate Nadia Williams from Ocean View who says that “I come from a small, disadvantaged ‘coloured’ community in Cape Town where people usually lack ambition due to a lack of basic life necessities. Before I was awarded a TSiBA scholarship in 2011 I was working as a cashier and administrative assistant, which I did not see myself doing for the rest of my life, but my mother was a single parent unable to fund further studies. So getting my bachelor degree is a huge achievement to not only me, but to my family, and even their parents, who all left school early in order to provide for the next generation."

Williams recalls that: “My family has been so supportive and proud that I got this life-changing opportunity to study especially as I am the only cousin within my age group to obtain a university degree. I am so grateful to have studied at TSiBA as they see students as more than just a student number. Just knowing that there were individuals who believed we could do it, even though at times we felt that we could not, was enough to keep us going through any challenging times. To Pay it Forward my long-term goal is to open up a youth centre to assist and guide youth who do not have the necessary support structure to motivate them in order to achieve their goals.”

Another 2016 TSiBA BBA graduate, 27-year-old Mlungisi Bandwini from Delft, says, “I feel so proud of being not only the first in my family to pass Grade 12, but the first to obtain a degree. This means so much to me and I dedicate my degree to my family as a way to thank them for supporting me throughout this journey and to the youth in my community who also have dreams so they can see that anything is possible! I have experienced both personal and academic challenges, but by applying TSiBA’s leadership value into my life I always remain resilient and humble telling myself I will never give up.”

TSiBA was founded in 2004 and registered and accredited with the Department of Higher Education (No: 2007/HE08/001) as a private higher education institution. To date TSiBA has awarded over 4,000 scholarships to talented young people who may otherwise not have had access to higher education for academic or financial reasons. In just eight cohorts TSiBA has graduated seven Mandela Rhodes Scholars, three Kofi Annan Scholars, three Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Candidate Fellows and received many social change awards.

You still have an opportunity to apply for a TSiBA tuition scholarship as applications for 2017 close 30 September 2016. For more information please contact Kwanele Magwaca on 021 532 2750, az.ca.abist@yduts, or visit www.tsiba.org.za.

29 Aug 2016 17:52

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TSIBA Education trading as TSIBA Business School is registered as a non-profit and public benefit organization with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997. (Registration certificate no. 2007/HE08/001)