Catholic University Offers Bursaries Amid #FeesMust Fall

By Mandla Zibi – South Africa’s only Catholic university is making available 180 bursaries for financially needy students next year.

St Augustine College, which is based in Johannesburg, is offering the bursaries thanks to North American Catholic funders.

“St Augustine is particularly grateful for the support, which has made available bursaries for study at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in 2017,” said Prof Garth Abraham, president of the university.

Depending on need and individual circumstances, bursaries will cover 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the tuition fee; in exceptional circumstances an additional stipend might be granted to cover living expenses, he said.

Prof Abraham said St Augustine “acknowledges that it is responsible to contribute concretely to the progress of the society within which it works, and is committed to the principle that those with ability should not be denied access to education because of financial need”.

He emphasised the difference between  bursaries awarded by the state and those offered by St Augustine. The St Augustine bursary need not be repaid, but its annual re-award “will be dependent on the academic performance and potential [of students], and on graduation, a commitment to contribute to the common good”, he said.

Noting that South Africa’s public universities continued to be rocked by violent protests which had led to death, injury and closed campuses, Prof Abrahams said: “Destruction of property at public universities will cost the South African state — and, ultimately, the South African taxpayer — in excess of R640 million.”

He noted that students’ demands for university education fees to be scrapped “clearly posed an enormous challenge for the South African fiscus”.

Prof Abraham said it is important for South Africa that university enrolments and pass rates increase.

In 1994, some 495396 people were enrolled at South African universities, a figure which by 2012 had increased to 953373. But these figures, Prof Abraham said, belied the fact that only about 17,3% of youth between 18-24 years of age are currently enrolled in higher education, according to the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training of 2013.

“If South Africa is to effectively compete internationally, this number must be increased; it is the ambition of government to increase enrolment to about 1,6 million persons — or 25% of the relevant age cohort — by 2030,” he said.

Prof Abraham further argued that while increasing the number of students enrolled for tertiary education is critical, “perhaps of even greater concern are woefully inadequate ‘throughpass’ rates.  Research has shown that only about 25% of those who register for undergraduate study at contact universities graduate in regulation time; about 48% graduate within five years.”

At distance education providers such as the University of South Africa (UNISA), figures were even lower, he said.

These figures mean that only about 45% of a typical yearly intake will eventually graduate, translating to an average throughput rate of below 20%.

Given that a majority of university students are recipients of state bursaries that must be repaid upon graduation, the poor throughput rates make the financial challenges all the more harder, said Prof Abrahams.

“Without increased financial support for the public universities, the situation will continue to deteriorate; financial constraints will impact on all aspects of the academic enterprise, ranging from infrastructure and research development to staff-student ratios in the lecture theatre — all of which will, in turn, impact on throughput rates.”

The undergraduate throughput rate at St Augustine is significantly higher than that of the large public institutions. In 2013 St Augustine had a throughput rate double that of the state average, Prof Abraham said.

The rector restated St Augustine’s commitment to the values of the Catholic intellectual tradition, which is to produce graduates who have learnt “to think rigorously, so as to act rightly and to serve humanity better”.

“We pride ourselves on the personal attention we devote to students. St Augustine’s favourable staff-student ratios and high impact teaching — higher than normal ‘contact hours’ between staff and students — allows opportunity for interaction and debate, as well as personal growth and the development of self-confidence,” he said.

Contact St Augustine’s College for more information