Mitchell's Plain Bursary Trust awards 16 new bursaries to local youth

The Mitchell's Plain Bursary and Role Model Trust (MPBRMT) awarded 16 new bursaries to local matriculants at its special awards ceremony at Glendale High School in Rocklands on Monday, June 16.

The event was officiated by trust alumni Cindy-Lee Pienaar and Kyle de Koker, who grew up in Morgenster and Heinz Park, respectively.

Ms Pienaar, who matriculated from Beacon Hill High School and studied law, is a public prosecutor in criminal law at Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court.

Mr De Koker, a Woodlands High School matriculant, completed studies in sport management and education and now teaches at Bridgetown High School in Athlone.

The trust, which was founded following the inaugural Mitchell's Plain Education Forum summit in 2010, also marked 15 years of investing in academic excellence and breaking financial barriers.

"Fifteen years ago, this trust was founded on a bold promise that no learner from Mitchell's Plain or Philippi should be denied the right to higher education because of financial barriers.

"Since then, that promise has shaped lives, transformed futures, and built a legacy we are privileged to continue today," said trust chairperson Achmat Chothia. 

Trustee Jeremy Michaels said the trust has awarded more than 600 bursaries and yielded 112 graduates since it was launched.

The 16 new recipients are joining 39 other Mitchell's Plain and Philippi youth who are at different stages of their studies, he said.

Earlier this month, the trust met with several Mitchell's Plain high school principals and representatives at an engagement at Glendale High in Rocklands.

Trust representatives, including patron Trevor Manuel, Mr Chothia, Mr Michaels and trustee Eugene Daniels, shared the organisation's vision, objectives, and success stories.

Addressing principals, Mr Michaels said only 10 bursary recipients have dropped out of the programme in the past 15 years.

"The dropout rate is quite low, and that is largely because of the psychosocial support that we try our best to provide," he said, acknowledging the efforts of trust administrator Genevieve Claassen who supports recipients closely.

Mr Michaels said while the trust has broadened its footprint to include Philippi and Khayelitsha, it is barely scratching the surface, considering the number of young people in the further education system.

"It is devastating to see the number of young people who are dropping out of school, and where are they ending up?

"They are not ending up in decent jobs. They are not ending up as plumbers, fitters and turners, welders, carpenters, and so on. You have to finish school to get there most of the time, nowadays," he said, adding that many matriculants never get to study further.

Mr Michaels also highlighted success stories of bursary recipients, namely Azraa Campbell, a Westridge High matriculant, and Kholisile Ndzube from Brown's Farm, Philippi.

Azraa is a BCom Finance and Economics student at the University of the Western Cape, and Kholisele is a BSc Computer Science student at the University of Cape Town.

Mr Daniels, a former Metro South education district director, encouraged the principals to continue being role models for their staff and pupils while creating solutions to the challenges they face in education

"I believe many of you are role models. You give the very best of your life to education. It's an ageing profession. I was acting principal for two years last year in Dunoon and Joe Slovo, so I've got some idea of how things have become worse.

"It's the country's fault. We have not done a lot of things right. The only way we're going to solve the problem in our country is if we stop blaming and moaning and groaning and you do this daily," he said.

Heeding the trust's call, several principals and teachers shared solutions to some of their challenges.

Portland High principal Ridwaan Williams highlighted the use of technology in classrooms to stream lessons by specialist teachers to other high schools in Mitchell's Plain.

Sheikh Ebrahim Dawood, principal of Darul Arqam Islamic High School, shared the impact of positive affirmation of staff and pupils and the introduction to confidential counselling services.

He also highlighted the role of artificial intelligence and the importance of emotional intelligence among teachers.

"Your top teacher is not the person that's going to give the best lecture or lesson over because you can just go on YouTube and play it in your class.

"It is that teacher that can see the gaps in the learning journey of children. That person is able to give proper feedback to the child, to reassess the child to make sure that he or she understands the content.

"And thirdly, someone who has the emotional intelligence to go with it so the child doesn't feel offended, when the child approaches the kitchen for a free sandwich," Sheikh Dawood said.