Peace of mind and the freedom to focus on her studies without the added stress of worrying about finances. This is how Tirelo Mtombeni, a second-year social work student at Stellenbosch University (SU), describes the financial support she has been receiving from the First National Bank Fund's bursary programme for the past two years.
Mtombeni was part of a group of bursary recipients who recently had the opportunity to meet Thandeka Rantsi, a representative of Tshikululu Social Investments, a company that manages the bursary fund on behalf of FNB. Rantsi visited the students on the Stellenbosch campus who receive support through this bursary programme and assured them of FNB's dedication to making a difference by supporting education in South Africa. The fields of study for these students, all living with a disability, range from engineering to accounting and social sciences.
Marcia Lyner-Cleophas, Head of SU's Disability Unit located in the Centre for Student Counselling and Development (CSCD), says her Unit has been working with the First National Bank Fund since 2014, with positive results. "In 2014 the Disability Unit was approached to find eligible students with disabilities who needed financial support. FNB initially supported four students, but this was expanded to now include six bursaries. Now we are hoping on support for the 2017 - 2019 cycle to enable our current students to complete their studies in 2017, as well as fund new first-years who are deserving of this kind of financial support," she adds.
According to Lyner-Cleophas, students with disabilities often have more support needs than the average student - this could mean extra tutoring, special transportation fees or fees for assistive technologies that they need to access information in the learning environments. "With the First National Bank Fund, it was possible to provide students with holistic funding, where each part of their funding contributes to their greater success," she adds.
"This support is already producing successful graduates who are making meaningful contributions towards university life and their futures - among them Luigia Nicholas (BCom), who is the new Dis-Maties chairperson and Bongani Mapumulo (BA Social Dynamics), currently the vice chair." Dis-Maties is a society for students with disabilities that aims to ensure that students with disabilities experience a student life that is as rich as that of any other student, both in a social and an academic context.
SU's Disability Unit is the starting point for co-ordinated support for students with disabilities. The Unit facilitates services for students with special learning needs, for example text conversion of reading material, assistive technology for hearing-impaired and visually-impaired students, academic concessions like extra writing time and computer use during tests and exams.
"It's all about creating an enabling environment that holistically empowers students to gain greater access to the teaching and learning environment in order to achieve their full potential," Lyner-Cleophas concludes.
Photo caption: At the back from left: Yumika Stober, Tshikululu's Thandeka Rantsi, Myra Muller, Luigia Nicholas and Tirelo Mtombeni. In front from left: Caleb Steenkamp and Bongani Mapumulo. (Photographer: Henk Oets)
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