R64 million in donor money is an all-time record

Prof Lourens van Staden, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, tolddonors that their contributions are touching the lives of peoplethey may never meet and in ways that they would never imagine.

Prof van Staden made the announcement during the third annual Donor and Stakeholder function arranged by the Advancement and Partnerships Office (APO) to acknowledge loyal donors of the University. 

The Bursary and Scholarship Fund is one of the University’s funding initiatives to give wings to its motto of empowering people through education and is aimed at alleviating insufficient funding available for students to access and complete their studies.

“Without the support of donors this will remain a dream for many students. With your contributions you are touching the lives of people you may never meet and in ways that you would never imagine,” Prof van Staden told guests.He added that the University received over 100 000 applications from prospective students, “mostly of a high standard,” this year of which only 15 100 could be enrolled. “This shows that TUT is a preferred institution and that the competition is immense to become a TUT student.” 

Dr Bandile Masuku, Chairperson of the TUT Council, said many people might wonder why there is still a need for a Bursary and Scholarship Fund given Government’s announcement of free education. The latter, he said, will only happen gradually and that there is still a need to fundraise for the missing middle, in particular.Dr Masuku also proposed that partnerships should extend beyond only seeking funding to aid access to higher education, but also include funding for accommodation. “Research has proven that students who stay in safe and university accommodation perform much better academically,” he said.

Dr Bandile Masuku, Chairperson of Council, proposed thatpartnerships should extend beyond only seeking funding to aidaccess to higher education, but also include funding for accommodation. 

He proposed a summit to bring people together to rally behind such an initiative. “We need to think outside of the box, especially for students studying at the Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa campuses.”

In his vote of thanks, Mr Nick Motsatse, Deputy Chairperson of the TUT Council, said that he and his counterparts are very happy to report that the first allocations of the TUT Bursary and Scholarship Fund will be made this year. 

Mr Motsatse was speaking on behalf of TUT Chancellor and Patron of the TUT Bursary and Scholarship Fund, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, who could unfortunately, not attend the event.

“Words cannot express how grateful we are as a University to have all of you here. This is evidence of the positive relationships that TUT strives to maintain with industry, corporates, Government, agencies, parastatals and crucially, I even think more importantly, the individual donors.”

A highlight of the event was performances by talented Vocal Art students, Omphile Kgogome and Lwazi Dlamini, who wowed the audience with their renditions of Vilja and Bella Siccome.