Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande promised today that all poor students admitted into tertiary institutions will get funding. 

Speaking at the controversial New Age business briefing in Jozi this morning, Nzimande said that he government had allocated R8 million for educations sponsorships this year. The majority of that funding had been placed into the national student financial aid scheme for students at Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, and students were going to be encouraged to head for these institutions rather than regular universities: 

Nzimande had the following to say: 

Although we don’t have adequate funds, students from poor backgrounds who have been admitted to colleges or universities will get funding… All of them… That is guaranteed. We are short of very critical skills that one cannot get at universities… you can only get them at FET colleges. You can’t go to university to be a plumber, electrician, welder or a boiler maker. 

Nzimande emphasised that companies should consider taking in more college students for learnerships, apprenticeships, and internships – while he also acknowledged that better training was needed for teachers and lecturers as well as the fact that better standards were needed. 

Every South African, whether you have passed or failed, we must create an opportunity for you to acquire a skill, even if you got 20%.

[Source: TimesLive]