A partnership between the merSETA and Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) has given an opportunity to unemployed students to study engineering, many of whom have become graduates. ISFAP has partnered with various organisations and have thus far funded 1 000 students, about half of who are assisted by merSETA. The success of ISFAP’s partnership […]
There are tens-of-thousands of students annually that cannot afford higher education. Among them there may be the potential of a future cure for cancer, a future Elon Musk/Tesla/SpaceX entrepreneur, a future solution for climate change, a future solution for the water and energy crisis, or a future leader like Madiba. Imagine the great loss to […]
The traditional year-end message reviews the past calendar year and gives a glimpse into expectations for the next one. For the CEO of an organisation like the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme, this is a particularly pleasant task, because the smiles of our current students illustrate the effects that a bursary programme can have on […]
‘What I like the most about a ISFAP bursary is that they do not only pay the tuition, accommodation and allowance but they also offer a great level of support, both academically and psychosocially. We are given tutors and are provided with mentors. There was a time in 2020 after COVID had just began when […]
‘My time thus far with ISFAP has given me more to look forward to in the future and that has made me very appreciative. I realise so many students, even those I am friends with, spend a lot of time worrying about tuition fees not being paid and about how their bank balances are something […]
‘Through ISFAP I am so close to the finishing line of achieving my childhood dream of becoming a medical doctor and moreover, a first-generation doctor in my family. Without the financial support of ISFAP, I would not have managed to reach this far.’—Sizamkele Hombakazi Mahlasela, 5th year medical student, Walter Sisulu University Funders of tertiary […]
Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) is a non-profit organization which was formed in 2016 because of outcomes of a Ministerial Task Team that recommended that the students who fall within the missing middle need to be catered for. Background to the formation of ISFAP comes from the major challenge of funding tertiary education,which is […]
“How would you go about developing a strategy for fundraising?” The Senior Executive for Fundraising and Strategy asks, in the most casual way – as if he didn’t just throw a bomb my way. This was during my third interview. I was way past the ‘tell me about yourself’ stage and to say I was […]
I am Khanyisile Gumede ,23 years old, a recent Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting Cum Laude graduate from the University of Johannesburg. I was fortunate to get exposed to different learning environments as my education journey began in Limpopo at Sereme Combined School(grade 1-6), then continued to Gauteng at Westonaria Primary School, Hoërskool Westonaria(grade7-9) and […]
Interviewer: Morné du Toit, COO, ISFAP Interviewee: Bakang Diphoko, BCom Accounting graduate (UJ) and ISFAP Alumnus 1. Good morning Bakang! Tell us more about yourself and your family. My name is Bakang Diphoko and I am a 21-year old young man that was born in Mafikeng in the North West Province. I started school at […]
Higher education funding of poor and “missing middle” (1) students remain a major crisis and challenge in South Africa. Just this last week we saw murmurings from student leadership that ominously reminded of the #FeesMustFall student-led protests that began in October 2015 in South Africa and continued into 2016, causing hundreds of millions of damages […]
I am Hlengiwe Masikane. I am 22 years old and currently pursuing a degree in Actuarial Science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). My academic journey began in Vlakfontein at a school called INKULULEKO YESIZWE PRIMARY SCHOOL. In 2010, I moved to Basa Tutorial Institute where I continued my education from Grade 5 to […]
As we begin a new year, many of us start the year with new hopes, dreams, and goals. With 2020 and its many challenges behind us, we look forward to 2021 with the hope of new beginnings and a better future for all.
Speaking at the event, ISFAP Chairman Sizwe Nxasana reminded partners where the programme began and its successes so far: “I feel like a proud father standing in front of you this evening. When we launched ISFAP as a Pilot programme at the height of the 2017 “fees must fall” crisis, we could not have foreseen […]
Author: Tetelo Benedict Letsoalo, University of Pretoria I remember the first time I got the email from Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Program (ISFAP) like it was yesterday. The joy I had in me for finally getting a financial aid that will help me with my tuitions because it’s not an easy road to go through if […]
In July, President Ramaphosa spoke at the inaugural 4th Industrial Revolution SA Digital Economy Summit, which looked at the impact that technology currently has on the South African society. One of the key themes included ‘The Future of Work and Jobs’. What is the 4th Industrial Revolution? Over the centuries, industrial revolutions have helped shape […]
Author: Emeritus June Pym, ISFAP Education Advisor South Africa’s higher education has increased admission of marginalised students rapidly, but sadly the throughput rate of students is alarmingly disparate and divided. This bodes the question about what it means to accept students with varying and disparate schooling and life experiences to higher education and sincerely know […]
Author: Ian Stols, University of Pretoria 31 August 2017… the day that changed my life. On this day, I received my admission letter to medicine and I was finally going to realise my dream of becoming a doctor. The excitement soon disappeared when I realised that I had no financial means to fund a 6-year […]
Author: Karin Jacobsen, SAICA South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. According to The Economist’s Pocket World in Figures, South Africa’s youth unemployment rate is the highest of any other country. Just last month Stats SA reported an increase to 29 percent of the labour force in the second half […]
Look up the definition of shared value and you will find words like ‘management strategy’, ‘business opportunities’ and ‘maximising competitive value’, all within the context of businesses taking on social problems within their communities. Of the many varied problems being tackled, none are more important in our current climate than those of poverty, unemployment and […]
Johannesburg, 14 June 2019: The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) published revisions to the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice. These revisions include key changes to Code 300, which specifically deals with Skills Development expenditure. This Code now allocates four points as an incentive to employers to encourage concerted contributions to bursaries for black students […]
According to a report released by the Department of Higher Education and Training, only 1,901 people (out of every 100,000) attend tertiary education institutions, the lowest of the five BRICS countries. The report also highlights the fact that the growth rate in university enrolment in 2016 was 1.6% and that, at this rate, we would […]
The government has made provision for both basic education, and further education, in the South African Constitution. Section 29 (1) states, “Everyone has the right to- basic education, including adult basic education; and further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.” The key words in that statement being, ‘through […]
The 4th Industrial Revolution is upon us, whether we are ready or not. A lot of professions are going to fall on the sidelines, especially if they don’t jump on the bandwagon, get on with the programme and gear up for the imminent change. For many professions, systems that used to work during the previous […]
For most young South Africans, going to a tertiary institution and qualifying as a professional is a dream they may never realise due to lack of funding. Despite the great strides government has made to increase the number of students who have access to higher education over the past ten years universities have become less […]
One of the reasons why South Africa is still struggling to deal decisively with the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, is due to lack of shared value and “short-termism”, this is according to Sizwe Nxasana, Chairman of Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP). The triple challenges have been a hot topic for many […]
The Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) hosted a successful Recognition Dinner, honouring their bursars, funders and donors who have assisted them in funding tertiary students in the year 2017 and 2018.
