Heidi Harper

South Africa is in dire need of better and more affordable education for its youth – this requires appropriate funding.
In its mid-term budget in October 2016, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) gave Parliament a short overview of an analysis into the cost of higher education in South Africa. According to the PBO’s research, it would cost the government more than R250bn in additional funds over the next three years to pay for all undergraduate enrolments.
Our country needs skilled individuals to realise our broader economic development goals. The National Development Plan (NDP) says that we need to increase the number of students in higher education to 1.62m (from approximately 750 000) and produce at least 5 000 doctoral graduates per year (from 1 420 in 2010) to achieve its vision for 2030. Educational funding mechanisms must ensure they support growth in student numbers to meet these goals.
In addition to providing the necessary skills to drive the development of the country, universities are also tasked with conducting research that has significant benefit for the public.
Universities must address the research needs of South Africa, ranging from economic and industrial development to infrastructure development. Therefore the funding mechanism must also ensure that this important research function is supported. Scholarships and bursaries can play an important part in helping realise the goals set out in the NDP. The shortage of funding has meant that corporate citizens need to come forward to assist with funding for deserving students. With its well-established educational support policies, SANRAL funds learners and students in secondary schools and universities. Scholarships and bursaries help students who are unable to finance their own studies. There should be no financial barriers preventing access to higher education at any of our country’s universities.
SANRAL’s scholarships, which are awarded on merit, create a pool of high school learners who can in future provide the engineering knowledge the agency needs, along with other organisations responsible for the national mandate of infrastructure development.
But we’re casting our net wider these days. Our CEO, Skhumbuzo Macozoma, has suggested the agency’s bursary and scholarship programmes shift their focus – from exclusively developing a pipeline for engineering skills to the advancement of maths, physics and science in general, with the aim of cultivating learners who will qualify for university entrance.
With R12.8m spent in the 2016/17 financial year on students in universities and secondary schools, SANRAL is continuing to support the development of South Africa’s human capital through tertiary institutions. The bursaries and scholarships form part of SANRAL’s plan to help address the country’s skills gap.
The majority of South African students are in financial need, which is exacerbated by high unemployment rates. Entities like SANRAL create a safety net that allows well-performing students to obtain tertiary education, development and the economy.
The span of time and the amount of money needed to address infrastructure development means that we need to put funds aside for scholarships and bursaries continuously. The agency supports a combined 133 students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study, in universities across the country, at an investment of R8.5m. A further 194 students in schools across the country are supported through SANRAL scholarships to the tune of R4.3m.
A large number of new jobs in high-growth industries will require a university degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). Demand for STEM talent to support industries is growing rapidly. Meeting that demand makes funding for university education an imperative, helping to build a smarter workforce and helping the nation to remain competitive in the global 21st-century economy.
The provision of scholarships and bursaries is not only a direct investment in the life of a student. It is an investment in the economic and social future of a country.
SANRAL is proud to have made a difference in the lives of South Africans and for as long as we are able, we will continue to go beyond roads.

Heidi Harper is the Corporate Services Executive of SANRAL