Many of the prospective students flocking to the University of Johannesburg may not get in at all, the institution. From Monday, thousands of people descended on the university, trying to secure a last minute spot in the first-year class of 2011. UJ's registrar, Professor Marie Muller, said the flurry of late applications could be attributed to the greater number of National Senior Certificate holders in Gauteng that obtained university admission in the 2010 exams, compared to last year. Muller said students were still queuing outside the university on Tuesday. Some had applied with their grade 11 results in 2010, were rejected, but fared better in their matric exams and were trying to get in on the strength of those results.
Matthews Baloyi, The Star
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
R150m financial aid boost for students
11 January 2011
South Africa has allocated an additional R150-million to its National Student Financial Aid Scheme to help tackle the backlog of scarce skills in the country.
Making the announcement in Pretoria on Monday, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said that, through the National Skills Fund, the government had set aside R22.9-million for funding 820 first-year students and R7-million for a bursary scheme targeting rural students who did exceptionally well in the 2010 Grade 12 exams.
R21-million had been set aside for 300 first-year bursaries for students with disabilities, with the balance of R99.1-million to be allocated to students who were already studying in fields of scarce skills.
Career Wise bursaries
The National Skills Fund will also be allocating R100-million Career Wise bursaries in the following categories:
* R17-million to fund 258 first-year students.
* R4-million for the Dipaleseng Special Bursary Scheme.
* R4.6-million for 67 first-year bursaries.
* R11.5-million to support 245 first-year students pursuing studies in chartered accountancy at the University of Fort Hare.
In a bid to ease access to Further Education and Training colleges and help the country to meet its needs for intermediate and technical skills, hard-working students from poor families would this year be exempted from paying academic fees.
The bursary, to be allocated to students whose parents earn a combined salary of R122 000 per annum, will cover tuition, accommodation, meals and transport costs.
However, Nzimande called on recipients to work hard, as the department will be monitoring their performances, warning that if they failed to produce good marks, the bursary would be forfeited.
"This is not a free ride, we require students to work hard," he said. "You can't continue to get a bursary if you don't deliver."
Career guidance
Nzimande also announced that his department and the South African Qualifications Authority had entered into a partnership with the SABC to provide pupils with information on career guidance.
The career information will be broadcast on all Nguni radio stations.
"Our aim is to ensure that information flows to rural schools and that no learners go to school without such information. It should be made available earlier in their schooling careers."
Pupils and ex-pupils can get advice from the career advice website www.careerhelp.org.za or from the Career Advice Helpline on 0860 111 673. The helpline can also be contacted via SMS on 072 2045 056 or by e-mailing help@nqf.org.za.
Source: BuaNews
South Africa has allocated an additional R150-million to its National Student Financial Aid Scheme to help tackle the backlog of scarce skills in the country.
Making the announcement in Pretoria on Monday, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said that, through the National Skills Fund, the government had set aside R22.9-million for funding 820 first-year students and R7-million for a bursary scheme targeting rural students who did exceptionally well in the 2010 Grade 12 exams.
R21-million had been set aside for 300 first-year bursaries for students with disabilities, with the balance of R99.1-million to be allocated to students who were already studying in fields of scarce skills.
Career Wise bursaries
The National Skills Fund will also be allocating R100-million Career Wise bursaries in the following categories:
* R17-million to fund 258 first-year students.
* R4-million for the Dipaleseng Special Bursary Scheme.
* R4.6-million for 67 first-year bursaries.
* R11.5-million to support 245 first-year students pursuing studies in chartered accountancy at the University of Fort Hare.
In a bid to ease access to Further Education and Training colleges and help the country to meet its needs for intermediate and technical skills, hard-working students from poor families would this year be exempted from paying academic fees.
The bursary, to be allocated to students whose parents earn a combined salary of R122 000 per annum, will cover tuition, accommodation, meals and transport costs.
However, Nzimande called on recipients to work hard, as the department will be monitoring their performances, warning that if they failed to produce good marks, the bursary would be forfeited.
"This is not a free ride, we require students to work hard," he said. "You can't continue to get a bursary if you don't deliver."
Career guidance
Nzimande also announced that his department and the South African Qualifications Authority had entered into a partnership with the SABC to provide pupils with information on career guidance.
The career information will be broadcast on all Nguni radio stations.
"Our aim is to ensure that information flows to rural schools and that no learners go to school without such information. It should be made available earlier in their schooling careers."
Pupils and ex-pupils can get advice from the career advice website www.careerhelp.org.za or from the Career Advice Helpline on 0860 111 673. The helpline can also be contacted via SMS on 072 2045 056 or by e-mailing help@nqf.org.za.
Source: BuaNews
Late UJ applicants cause traffic jams
January 10 2011 at 07:05pm
IOL news students registration01
Independent Newspapers
Around 30,000 late applicants at the University of Johannesburg, mostly on its Kingsway campus, caused heavy traffic jams in the area.
About 30 000 late applicants at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), mostly on its Kingsway campus, caused heavy traffic jams in the area on Monday, Johannesburg metro police said.
“The applicants were parking on Kingsway road and this made traffic very heavy... it was severely congested,” said Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar.
He said traffic was affected from midday until about 5pm.
UJ's registrar, Professor Marie Muller, said the flood in late applications could be attributed to the increase in the “number of National Senior Certificate holders in Gauteng that obtained University admission in the 2010 exams”, compared to last year.
The university received 63 400 applications for 2011 first year undergraduate studies in the dedicated application period in 2010.
“The university's pre-selection is based on grade 11 results and UJ conditionally admitted 17 500 applicants.”
University spokesperson Herman Esterhuizen said some of these accepted applicants may have applied to other universities and so would not actually enrol at UJ, in which case there would be some available spaces for late applicants.
“Every late applicant that arrived today was given an application form... but some were still upset because they thought that they could arrive at the university and register. It just doesn't work like that.
“Some applicants were quite upset and had to be escorted off the campus.”
Muller said UJ may enrol 48 000 students in 2011 and this included all undergraduate and postgraduate students.
She also reminded applicants that “compliance with the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee a study place at UJ”. -
Sapa
IOL news students registration01
Independent Newspapers
Around 30,000 late applicants at the University of Johannesburg, mostly on its Kingsway campus, caused heavy traffic jams in the area.
About 30 000 late applicants at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), mostly on its Kingsway campus, caused heavy traffic jams in the area on Monday, Johannesburg metro police said.
“The applicants were parking on Kingsway road and this made traffic very heavy... it was severely congested,” said Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar.
He said traffic was affected from midday until about 5pm.
UJ's registrar, Professor Marie Muller, said the flood in late applications could be attributed to the increase in the “number of National Senior Certificate holders in Gauteng that obtained University admission in the 2010 exams”, compared to last year.
The university received 63 400 applications for 2011 first year undergraduate studies in the dedicated application period in 2010.
“The university's pre-selection is based on grade 11 results and UJ conditionally admitted 17 500 applicants.”
University spokesperson Herman Esterhuizen said some of these accepted applicants may have applied to other universities and so would not actually enrol at UJ, in which case there would be some available spaces for late applicants.
“Every late applicant that arrived today was given an application form... but some were still upset because they thought that they could arrive at the university and register. It just doesn't work like that.
“Some applicants were quite upset and had to be escorted off the campus.”
Muller said UJ may enrol 48 000 students in 2011 and this included all undergraduate and postgraduate students.
She also reminded applicants that “compliance with the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee a study place at UJ”. -
Sapa
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Buy student accommodation for good returns
By Landlord SOuth Africa
Published: November 8, 2010
With matric learners now in the throes of final exams, many parents are once again facing the problem of finding suitable away-from-home accommodation for children who plan to go to college or university next year.
But the problem is turning out to be an opportunity for property sellers in residential areas close to tertiary education institutions, says Richard Gray, chief executive of Harcourts Africa, who explains that increasing number of parents are realising that it is possible to provide suitable and stable accommodation for students and benefit from a shrewd investment decision at the same time.
“Indeed, we see a quite a new trend emerging of families buying a second property close to a college or university rather than a holiday home, say, or a rental property elsewhere. And the reason is that they have worked out that such purchases will provide students with off-campus ‘digs’ that are a cost-effective alternative to residences or rented rooms and flats, and will usually prove their worth as pretty canny investments as well.”
Parents whose children have finished their studies, he says, can usually find a ready market for these second properties among the parents of incoming students, and make a good profit on their initial outlay.
“Increasingly, though, we see parents retaining these properties and using them as the means to give their newly-graduated children a head start in their careers – as assets that can be rented out to generate an additional income, or that they can live in themselves while they get established, or that may serve as security for a loan needed to start a new business or professional practice.
“In this way, their investment becomes the ‘gift that keeps on giving’ and proves its worth over and over – while also helping more young people to achieve home ownership and contributing to the rejuvenation of many areas around colleges and universities by a new generation of residents.”
Areas where this trend is already clearly evident, says Gray, include Observatory and Rondebosch in Cape Town, Auckland Park and Richmond in Johannesburg, Glenwood and Umbilo in Durban, and Arcadia and Hatfield in Pretoria.
Published: November 8, 2010
With matric learners now in the throes of final exams, many parents are once again facing the problem of finding suitable away-from-home accommodation for children who plan to go to college or university next year.
But the problem is turning out to be an opportunity for property sellers in residential areas close to tertiary education institutions, says Richard Gray, chief executive of Harcourts Africa, who explains that increasing number of parents are realising that it is possible to provide suitable and stable accommodation for students and benefit from a shrewd investment decision at the same time.
“Indeed, we see a quite a new trend emerging of families buying a second property close to a college or university rather than a holiday home, say, or a rental property elsewhere. And the reason is that they have worked out that such purchases will provide students with off-campus ‘digs’ that are a cost-effective alternative to residences or rented rooms and flats, and will usually prove their worth as pretty canny investments as well.”
Parents whose children have finished their studies, he says, can usually find a ready market for these second properties among the parents of incoming students, and make a good profit on their initial outlay.
“Increasingly, though, we see parents retaining these properties and using them as the means to give their newly-graduated children a head start in their careers – as assets that can be rented out to generate an additional income, or that they can live in themselves while they get established, or that may serve as security for a loan needed to start a new business or professional practice.
“In this way, their investment becomes the ‘gift that keeps on giving’ and proves its worth over and over – while also helping more young people to achieve home ownership and contributing to the rejuvenation of many areas around colleges and universities by a new generation of residents.”
Areas where this trend is already clearly evident, says Gray, include Observatory and Rondebosch in Cape Town, Auckland Park and Richmond in Johannesburg, Glenwood and Umbilo in Durban, and Arcadia and Hatfield in Pretoria.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Save our institutions
Dispatch Online
2010/09/20
Save our institutions
A REPORT over the weekend that South Africa’s students owed R13.2billion in tuition and accommodation fees is a clear indication of the depth of the debt crisis facing our universities.
Thousands of students at 14 of the country’s 23 tertiary institutions are liable for more than R2bn in outstanding fees this year alone, the Sunday Times reported.
Institutions are battling to get the money back, including from students financed through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which is expected to pay at least R788.2 million of the outstanding fees of this year.
The NSFAS is owed R3.3bn over the last 11 years by graduates who got study loans, while another R7.1bn is owed by more than 530000 students who are still studying or who have dropped out.
In our region of the Eastern Cape, the picture is equally bleak. Walter Sisulu University has the dubious distinction of being owed almost R389m in outstanding fees – including R121m last year.
According to a financial report presented at an executive management meeting last month, WSU will have a projected deficit of almost R66m by the end of this year.
Judging by the response from WSU’s vice-chancellor Marcus Balintulo – who described WSU’s student debt crisis as “critical” – a solution may still be a long way away.
“We have to juggle around and sometimes we delay paying (for services). It’s a tough situation,” he told the Sunday Times.
What is clear is that a blame game for the current cash crunch at WSU and elsewhere will get nowhere closer to solving the problem.
Riots like the one at WSU’s Nelson Mandela Drive campus in Mthatha last week, which saw 241 students arrested, are not only unacceptable, but also do nothing to solve the situation.
The solution, it seems, lies in untangling a number of complex issues interwoven in a vicious circle involving students, institutions, government and the private sector.
Students need to understand that study loans – including from the NSFAS – are contracts that must be fulfilled.
This means returning to the lecture halls and bringing home proper pass rates as their side of the bargain.
Institutions like WSU need to beef up their culture of learning and their image as places of excellence where young people, mostly from disadvantaged communities, have hope for a brighter future.
Government – and the private sector, for that matter – needs to create jobs and find the space to reward those who make it to help ease their financial burden in paying back student loans.
But, as Balintulo said: “It’s a tough situation.”
2010/09/20
Save our institutions
A REPORT over the weekend that South Africa’s students owed R13.2billion in tuition and accommodation fees is a clear indication of the depth of the debt crisis facing our universities.
Thousands of students at 14 of the country’s 23 tertiary institutions are liable for more than R2bn in outstanding fees this year alone, the Sunday Times reported.
Institutions are battling to get the money back, including from students financed through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which is expected to pay at least R788.2 million of the outstanding fees of this year.
The NSFAS is owed R3.3bn over the last 11 years by graduates who got study loans, while another R7.1bn is owed by more than 530000 students who are still studying or who have dropped out.
In our region of the Eastern Cape, the picture is equally bleak. Walter Sisulu University has the dubious distinction of being owed almost R389m in outstanding fees – including R121m last year.
According to a financial report presented at an executive management meeting last month, WSU will have a projected deficit of almost R66m by the end of this year.
Judging by the response from WSU’s vice-chancellor Marcus Balintulo – who described WSU’s student debt crisis as “critical” – a solution may still be a long way away.
“We have to juggle around and sometimes we delay paying (for services). It’s a tough situation,” he told the Sunday Times.
What is clear is that a blame game for the current cash crunch at WSU and elsewhere will get nowhere closer to solving the problem.
Riots like the one at WSU’s Nelson Mandela Drive campus in Mthatha last week, which saw 241 students arrested, are not only unacceptable, but also do nothing to solve the situation.
The solution, it seems, lies in untangling a number of complex issues interwoven in a vicious circle involving students, institutions, government and the private sector.
Students need to understand that study loans – including from the NSFAS – are contracts that must be fulfilled.
This means returning to the lecture halls and bringing home proper pass rates as their side of the bargain.
Institutions like WSU need to beef up their culture of learning and their image as places of excellence where young people, mostly from disadvantaged communities, have hope for a brighter future.
Government – and the private sector, for that matter – needs to create jobs and find the space to reward those who make it to help ease their financial burden in paying back student loans.
But, as Balintulo said: “It’s a tough situation.”
Friday, September 17, 2010
Our Youtube production has gone live!
We are proud to announce that our Youtube production is now live. You can get a glimpse of what our properties look like, our office and our friendly staff. Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhWp7LOW288 to watch the video.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
UJ Students to march over accommodation
The Citizen
Wednesday, 14 July 2010 17:37
NONI MOKATI
JOHANNESBURG - Students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) are crying foul over “dodgy” accommodation.
According to ANC Brixton branch spokesman Joseph Se-hlabaka, many students had approached the ruling party about alleged money-laundering and the exploitation of students.
It is claimed that the university provided shoddy accommodation to students sponsored by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS).
But UJ executive director of students affairs Professor Bobby Mandew said the allegations were baseless and untrue.
A student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged there was overcrowding in some of university approved apartments.
Some students have apparently not been allocated accommodation, despite NSFAS having paid UJ for their residences.
One student charged that some of privately-owned student accommodation establishments were not accredited and were in a dire condition. Some of the “worst” residences are said to be in Ekeinhof, South of Johannesburg, and one in the Johannesburg central business district.
A number of students based in Brixton are vehemently opposing their mooted relocation (by the university) to Ekeinhof.
Students have threatened to embark on a big march if the university failed to meet their demands.
“Our parents are under the impression that we live in well-established houses and yet we are forced to live in dilapidated buildings.
“What’s more frustrating is that some of the flats in town are surrounded by prostitutes at night,” said one student.
An ANC Youth League member was apparently due to face a disciplinary hearing for speaking out on the matter.
Prof Mandew confirmed that one student was facing a disciplinary hearing after he led a group of first-year students to protest outside his house.
nonim@citizen.co.za
Wednesday, 14 July 2010 17:37
NONI MOKATI
JOHANNESBURG - Students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) are crying foul over “dodgy” accommodation.
According to ANC Brixton branch spokesman Joseph Se-hlabaka, many students had approached the ruling party about alleged money-laundering and the exploitation of students.
It is claimed that the university provided shoddy accommodation to students sponsored by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS).
But UJ executive director of students affairs Professor Bobby Mandew said the allegations were baseless and untrue.
A student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged there was overcrowding in some of university approved apartments.
Some students have apparently not been allocated accommodation, despite NSFAS having paid UJ for their residences.
One student charged that some of privately-owned student accommodation establishments were not accredited and were in a dire condition. Some of the “worst” residences are said to be in Ekeinhof, South of Johannesburg, and one in the Johannesburg central business district.
A number of students based in Brixton are vehemently opposing their mooted relocation (by the university) to Ekeinhof.
Students have threatened to embark on a big march if the university failed to meet their demands.
“Our parents are under the impression that we live in well-established houses and yet we are forced to live in dilapidated buildings.
“What’s more frustrating is that some of the flats in town are surrounded by prostitutes at night,” said one student.
An ANC Youth League member was apparently due to face a disciplinary hearing for speaking out on the matter.
Prof Mandew confirmed that one student was facing a disciplinary hearing after he led a group of first-year students to protest outside his house.
nonim@citizen.co.za
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)