In 2020, the FirstRand Foundation donated R6,223 million towards the SU Disability Unit to provide bursaries, assistive devices and human support to students with disabilities. Since the collaboration between the FirstRand Foundation and the SU Disability Unit began in 2014, 15 bursary recipients have graduated, and some have continued their studies by embarking on postgraduate degrees.
The key outcomes of the FirstRand Foundation programme include enabling inclusive/wider access to tertiary education, addressing systemic exclusionary barriers that prohibit students from progressing through and completing tertiary education, improving the quality and effectiveness of wraparound support services, capacitating disability units, facilitating active economic participation by enabling qualifications in fields related to critical skills and occupations of high demand, and supporting innovative ideas and solutions aimed at addressing challenges in the tertiary education space.
SU's Disability Unit offers co-ordinated support for students with disabilities and facilitates services for print-disabled students, transcribers for hearing-impaired students, SA Sign Language interpreters for Deaf students and specialised software and hardware for visually-impaired students.
Many of the students supported by the FirstRand Foundation have received full bursaries, which include tuition, accommodation, books, and access to assistive technologies and human support. Partial bursaries were introduced in 2020 for undergraduate students who already receive some independent funding. The partial bursaries offer top-up support to cover additional costs.
"The support makes a massive difference," says Dr Marcia Lyner-Cleophas, head of SU's Disability Unit located in the Centre for Student Counselling and Development (CSCD).
"We relieve the financial stress through this bursary. We realise that assistive technologies can be very expensive, even for a middle-class family. This programme makes it easier for us to advise on a range of support as we know that there are funds which will cover the costs.”
Students with disabilities often have more support needs than the average student – this could mean extra tutoring, special transportation costs or fees for the assistive technologies that they require in order to access information in the learning environment.
During 2020, the funds from the FirstRand Foundation also made it possible for the Disability Unit to support students with data and internet connectivity by enabling them to access the COVID-19 Emergency Remote Teaching, Learning and Assessment environment.
The FirstRand Foundation bursaries make a huge difference in the lives of the beneficiaries.
Luigia Nicholas, a visually-impaired Postgraduate Tax Law candidate, was one of the first recipients of the FirstRand Foundation bursary and has been making meaningful contributions towards university life, transformation and inclusion at SU since then. Amongst other things, she served as the Special Needs Manager: Student Representative Council and as chairperson of Dis-Maties, a student organisation aimed at raising awareness about disability matters and facilitating equal social and academic inclusion of students with disabilities.
"This bursary gives me the opportunity to complete my studies without financial stress and the ability to care for my guide-dog who takes care of me. It has also allowed me the freedom to pursue other dreams of creating a more accessible environment on campus for students with disabilities and the courage to advocate for these students."
The FirstRand Foundation bursary allowed Pierre Jacobs, who is deaf, to continue his studies following his undergraduate years. He is currently working towards a master's degree in Engineering. "Without the bursary, I would not have discovered my passion for programming, web development and innovation. The bursary will help me to finish my master's degree."