After receiving a diploma pass in the 2022 exams, Glen Maluleke of Famanda High School in Siyandhani village did not give in to pressure to go to college. He returned to class to repeat his matric year to improve his grades. This choice was not in vain as he obtained two distinctions in agriculture and life science and bettered his other subjects to a level 6 to become a top student at the school.

However, despite his high grades, he did not have the money to register at a tertiary institution. Luckily the Siyandhani Education Foundation came to his rescue. The foundation, which was founded in 2022 by Given Nghunyule to assist students in the village with university registration fees, pledged to give him R10 000 for registration. “This foundation was established to assist students in situations like these.

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We know that many students from poor backgrounds struggle to register at universities even with an NSFAS bursary because of delays associated with accessing the funds,” explained Nghunyule. He said this is the cause of many students dropping out because of failure to secure the registration fees on time. “We aim to bridge that gap by ensuring that students from this village do not have to delay registration while waiting for NSFAS funds,” continued Nghunyule.

Commenting on the registration fee donation, Glen said he was grateful that the Siyandhani Foundation came to his rescue. “My mother was still hustling to raise the money to make sure I can enroll when I received the donation from the Siyandhani Foundation,” he said. Glen has applied for pharmaceutical studies and education at university. “My real plan is to do pharmacy for one year and then hopefully to enrol for medicine the following year,” he said.