Mentorship opportunity for rural learners
Some 90 top-performing learners, from remote areas will benefit from hands-on mentorship while at high school and thereafter receive funding for their tertiary studies.
Ninety top-performing learners are set to benefit from the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority’s (HWSETA) Siyakhulisa Mentorship Programme.
The mentorship programme is aimed at addressing access to higher education for rural learners in South Africa, said HWSETA’s CEO, Elaine Brass.
Brass said they will identify 90 top-performing learners,from remote areas, who will benefit from hands-on mentorship while at high school and thereafter receive funding for their tertiary studies.
“There are numerous barriers to access to higher education for rural learners. Beyond just the challenges of their geographical location, there are also socio-economic barriers and sometimes a lack of information to the career opportunities available and how to access these. It’s HWSETA’s goal to ensure that all learners across South Africa, even those from the further-flung areas of our country, feel that pursuing a career within the health or social development sectors is possible,” she said.
Brass said the Siyakhulisa Mentorship Programme was officially launched in the Eastern Cape last week, saying that they will identify ten top-performing learners from remote areas in each province whose marks in both pure Mathematics and Physical Science/Life Science are level 6 upwards (a minimum of 70%).
She said this is informed by the entry requirements at universities for health-related courses like medicine, psychology, and nursing.
She added that the selected learners from each province will receive mentorship from experts so that they can ultimately benefit from funding for their tertiary studies in the fields of Health and Social Development from HWSETA.
“The Siyakhulisa Mentorship Programme is designed as a comprehensive programme aimed at guiding the learners to fulfil their dreams of securing a career in the health or social development sectors. The programme will help learners with their mental health during exams by offering access to psychologists. HWSETA will organise educational camps for learners during school holidays and collaborate with schools and tutors to offer Saturday school to help the learners maintain their good Maths and Science marks.
The selected learners will also attend tertiary open days to assist them in making informed decisions about their careers. Ultimately, HWSETA will also provide tertiary education funding to the eligible candidates,” said Brass, adding that it is hoped that the mentorship programme will encourage, inspire and guide the 90 selected learners so that they are perfectly poised to take up exciting and meaningful careers within the sector.
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