Johnathan Paoli
Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi praised the top three learners from all the no-fee schools across the province, and said that no expense would be spared in funding the future of the province and the country.
The premier was speaking at an event where together with the MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, the Gauteng City Region Academy awarded bursaries to the province’s top best-performing matriculants from no-fee paying schools as well as another top three pupils from Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) schools on Sunday at Vodaworld in Midrand.
In acknowledging the learners who had gathered at the event, Lesufi said the award winners were not invited, but invited themselves by their marks.
The premier said over R560 million would be provided for the beneficiaries of the bursary, and that there would be no limit to the cost of a course or qualification a learner wishes to pursue.
Lesufi called on the learners to appreciate the desperate need for skills the province required in light of its development and said that the Masters Skills Plan, a document over the future careers of the young people of the province, was only available in Gauteng.
“GCRA was established to reverse this tendency of everyday products and solutions being sourced from out of the country, we must reverse it, and ensure that it all be made in SA, proudly Gauteng,” Lesufi said.
The premier said that the government wanted to commit to reversing poverty through the beneficiaries developing indigenous solutions for the poor people of the country.
Lesufi concluded by thanking former premier David Makhura for being the integral founder and organiser of the GCRA bursary.
“Tears and sweat taste the same, both tears and sweat taste salty, but with tears you get sympathy, and with sweat you get results,” the premier said.
The GCRA is a branch of the Gauteng Department of Education, which is responsible for skill development within the province and assists with the development of skills of students by way of facilitation and coordination of bursaries, internships, learnerships and career guidance programmes.
The program provides financial assistance to eligible youth in Gauteng for their undergraduate and postgraduate studies and covers registration fees, tuition fees, accommodation in residence (to a maximum value of R65 000) or off-campus/ private accommodation (to a maximum value of R47 000), books, laptop and a living allowance for off-campus/ private accommodation.
The MEC said that the importance of business coming to the table could never be overstated in funding and supporting the development of education of the young people of the country.
“Every society rests upon the success and quality of its education,” Chiloane said.
The MEC expressed his pride at the class of 2023 and said that they have shown what it means to uphold their determination under extreme circumstances.
Chiloane said in terms of the province, Gauteng has consistently produced, and remained producing good results despite not coming first, and praised the 7% increase in the Maths pass-rate.
He thanked both the parents, teachers and SGBs upon whose support, the children of the nation would not be able to have achieved as well as they did in last year’s examinations.
The MEC elaborated further on the key role of educators and decried the poaching of well performing teachers from township schools in light of the issue of inadequate remuneration.
He confirmed that currently there were over 4000 recipients of the provincial bursary, before the inclusion of this year’s learners.
“This is the best of the best of young people who come from our townships and who have defied the odds and who said that my background does not matter and achieved the best,” Chiloane said.
The MEC said that the department was currently working on a memorandum of agreement with both the GIBS Business School of the University of Pretoria as well as the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership in order to help and support the management structures of a lot of under-resourced township schools.
INSIDE EDUCATION
