The importance of mentoring programmes for tertiary bursary students

Despite financial support for tertiary bursary holders, intangible factors could still prove to be the stumbling block for even the brightest students in their tertiary studies. Peer support and mentoring programmes are vital elements to the success of tertiary students as they help to support developing students’ individual strengths and attributes to enable them to succeed.

Pearl Mphuthi, FNB Fund Manager says, “The FNB Fund, along with The Rural Education Access Programme (Reap), have identified that even though many young South Africans from poor rural areas successfully complete their schooling and receive financial backing for tertiary studies, many might still fall off the tracks and have their success hampered by social and psychological barriers”.

“There are definite socio-cultural factors which may prevent students from being adequately prepared for and able to participate effectively in, tertiary studies. The answer therefore is to provide a more holistic solution for these students. There are many bright students out there, but if they don’t receive the appropriate guidance throughout their tertiary education experience, it becomes very difficult to learn.” says Lorraine Gumede, Regional Manager of Reap.

Most of Reap’s bursary holders are first generation students. So the transition to university is an enormous leap across economic, and social barriers, which their parents and guardians might not be able to assist them with.

Gumede says that many disadvantaged students experience feelings of social alienation and homesickness, especially at the beginning of their first year, when not only the culture of the campus environment and its people, but also the city, is still new and strange. A big challenge for rural students is that they generally do not know anybody else on campus when they first arrive. Many also experience a degree of culture shock; for example people in their rural villages all know each other and greet one another, whereas at university, people are anonymous and isolated .

“For students who belong to Reap, a special orientation programme for first-year students, starts three weeks before the university opens. The programme gives these students time to get used to their new environment before the academic programme begins. Each group of six or seven students is allocated a mentor, a second-year student who speaks the same language and who helps orientate them to the campus and campus life,” adds Gumede.

Furthermore, academic orientation includes an introduction to accounting and statistics and, second-year students are appointed as tutors, to assist in tutorial sessions as well as assist more informally in the residence.

“Mentoring, as it was variously implemented, was found to be a valuable support for disadvantaged students in that it both reduced their feelings of alienation and assisted in their integration into the institution. Peer mentoring was particularly effective in this regard, both as part of programmes in residences and during orientation and registration times,” says Gumede.

Reap’s programme is built on personalised attention designed to facilitate the transition from school to university, from rural to urban life and into early adulthood. The ultimate goal is to facilitate academic success and personal growth by developing students’ independence and capacity to take care of themselves. Reap together with the FNB Fund understands the importance of integrated support systems that will provide a coherent support network and thus maximise students’ chances of success,” concludes Gumede.

Reap assists students from poor rural areas across all nine provinces to access tertiary education and provides information, resources and referrals to grade 11 & 12 learners in rural schools. It also provides students with a structured support and development programme to facilitate success in their studies.