Left to right: Top three Merit Award Winners for the BBA degree programme - Pearl Pugin (TSiBA Dean), Shon von Harte, Cindy van Wyk, Lailaa Jacobs and Adri Marais (TSiBA CEO)
There is a gaping need in South Africa for free, sustainable education which is certainly not a new phenomenon. The harsh reality in South Africa is that not everyone can access tertiary study due to socio-economic constraints and the standard of basic education. For this very reason, over a decade ago, four individuals came together with a common belief that by providing educational opportunities and increasing access to education we could fill this gap and hasten the transformation period in our fledgling democracy. In 2004 the fully accredited, non-profit Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA) was founded and thirteen years later there is undeniable proof that this award-winning university is driving social change by igniting opportunities for youth.
A dream has come true for 121 students awarded full tuition scholarships to study TSiBA business programmes focused on entrepreneurship and leadership at a ceremony in Cape Town. Students may come from diverse backgrounds around the country, but their dreams remain the same - to study at tertiary level and change their own lives, as well as those around them.
Masala Ramulifho, 30 years, born in Makhado in Limpopo, and currently living in Langa, says “I know my life will change in a big way as I have experienced financial difficulties and TSiBA is giving me a great opportunity to get a tertiary education. I come from a poor community and I want to let people see that if I can do it they can also get an education.”
“TSiBA is uniquely positioned to address the skills and knowledge gap to enable students to progress in their tertiary degree programmes, find aspirational employment or thrive as entrepreneurs. Rather than pay back their scholarships monetarily, these students are required to Pay it Forward transferring knowledge, skills and resources they will gain at TSiBA back into their communities. In just seven cohorts TSiBA has graduated seven Mandela Rhodes Scholars, three Kofi Annan Scholars, three Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellows and continues to receive multiple social change awards”, says Adri Marais, TSiBA CEO and one of four Co-founders.
“The curriculum at TSiBA is balanced with both academic content and experiential learning. Students who are selected are nurtured to grow in confidence and acquire the values, attributes and behaviour of a leader by being grounded in themselves, their community, country and the world. This outcome is achieved through our unique “Profile of Graduateness” which places attitude at the heart of the student’s development and layers skills and knowledge around this. TSiBA seeks to ensure that students are equipped not only for further study and the working world, but also develop a social conscience and the skills to build our nation” says TSiBA Dean, Pearl Pugin.
Lulamile Gobeni, 19 years from Manenburg, who has been awarded a full scholarship believes that his ”TSiBA qualification will make me more employable as I know that 95% of TSiBA degree graduates are employed. My dream is to elevate poverty in my community and country.”
TSiBA is a non-profit business school founded in 2004 and registered and accredited with the Department of Higher Education (No: 2007/HE08/001) as a private higher education institution. To date TSiBA has awarded around 2 000 scholarships to talented young people who may otherwise not have had access to higher education for academic or financial reasons.
Applications for 2017 study will open in March 2016, for more information you can contact Kwanele Magwaca on az.gro.abist@yduts
Contact
Sandi Sher
Marketing Manager / TSiBA Education NPC
Tel: 021 532 2750 / Cell: 083 556 7321
Email: az.gro.abist@idnas
Facebook: TSiBA Education
Twitter: @TSiBA_Education
www.tsiba.org.za
