Date: 20/01/2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Asmal: Recipients of Carnegie-SA Undergraduate Women's Scholarships
ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, MP, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, AT THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FOR THE 2003 RECIPIENTS OF THE CARNEGIE-SOUTH AFRICA UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN'S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME, Broederstroom, 20 January 2003
Director-General
Colleagues
Students
Thank you for inviting me to meet with you today. I am very pleased to be able to address you, the first ever recipients of the Carnegie-South Africa Undergraduate Women's Scholarships. You are the first of three cohorts of students who will receive this prestigious scholarship.
Congratulations on this achievement. You have been through a rigorous selection process involving some 2000 applicants from around the country. I am sure that you worked hard to achieve the examination results that you did and we are very pleased to be able to offer you this scholarship.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for providing generous funding for this important project, and for their interest in the development of education in South Africa. In addition to support for this programme, Carnegie funds the South African History Project and the study into the National Higher Education Information and Application Service.
Paying for a university or technikon programme is an expense that few South Africans can easily afford. The majority of students attending higher education institutions in this country have to seek some form of financial support. The government already contributes directly to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which assists thousands of tertiary level students every year. I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the direct contributions made by the private sector and family trusts to supporting bursaries and scholarship in our higher education institutions.
Tuition fees can be as expensive as R15 000 or even R20 000 per year, and the cost of accommodation and food expenses, as well as books and travel expenses all add up. With this scholarship, we aim to considerably reduce your financial worries and those of your family. By doing this, we expect that you will be able to concentrate on your studies in higher education and excel at them, as well as enjoy the life that being at university can offer. We also hope that in this way you will become role models for future generations of young women.
You have been identified by your schools as top students. Your presence here is a credit to your school and to yourself. We hope that this scholarship programme will be an added impetus for excellence in schools.
This Scholarship Programme has been set up in part, to address some of the many challenges facing the higher education system in this country. In 1997, we released a White Paper on higher education, which outlined the key vision and goals for higher education in South Africa. In 2001, we released the National Plan for Higher Education, which focuses on the framework and mechanisms for implementing changes to higher education. One of the major areas of focus in the National Plan is that of achieving equity in the higher education system. As you know, the inequities of the past in South Africa have had a major effect on all sectors of society. We have made significant strides in redressing imbalances in the student population in higher education. However, the same cannot be said for the staff profile of our institutions, particularly that of academic staff, which remains skewed.
Overall, women students are well represented in universities and technikons. The enrolment numbers of women in higher education have increased so that in some institutions, female students make up just over half of total student enrolments. However, women are more often than not clustered in particular areas of study, such as the humanities, and much lower numbers of women than men go on to complete post-graduate studies. Women are obviously under-represented in fields such as science and technology, engineering, and business and commerce.
As the Ministry we work closely with higher education institutions to improve their gender equity profiles, requiring them to submit institutional plans with clear strategies for dealing with gender inequities. However, through programmes such as these, we can also directly contribute to breaking down some of the barriers for women in higher education.
The Carnegie-South Africa Scholarship Programme has been set up to address a number of key national policy goals, including increasing the general participation rate in higher education, particularly that of women. By increasing the numbers of women graduates in higher education this programme will contribute to the promotion of gender equity in the system. The Programme has targeted areas where there are national skills needs. These areas are also those in which women are under-represented. We hope that as students on this programme your expectations of higher education will be met, and that you will be able to fulfil your career goals. The research that is planned as part of the project, and in which you will be participating, will begin to shed light on some of the factors that influence the quality of the experience of women in South African higher education, such as institutional cultures.
With that said, it remains for me to wish you the very best in your studies over the next few years. I expect that you will do well in your various fields of study and that some of you will go on to post-graduate study, and to careers in Academia. I hope that you will stay in South Africa in the long term, so that your expertise will not be lost to our country.
I hope also that you will make use of the many services available to you at our higher education institutions and participate fully in all aspects of university life. The scholarship programme will maintain an interest in your progress at university, through our research programme.
Thank you and good luck.
Enquiries: Molatwane Likhethe on 082 573 0397
Issued by Ministry of Education
20 January 2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Asmal: Recipients of Carnegie-SA Undergraduate Women's Scholarships
ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, MP, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, AT THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FOR THE 2003 RECIPIENTS OF THE CARNEGIE-SOUTH AFRICA UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN'S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME, Broederstroom, 20 January 2003
Director-General
Colleagues
Students
Thank you for inviting me to meet with you today. I am very pleased to be able to address you, the first ever recipients of the Carnegie-South Africa Undergraduate Women's Scholarships. You are the first of three cohorts of students who will receive this prestigious scholarship.
Congratulations on this achievement. You have been through a rigorous selection process involving some 2000 applicants from around the country. I am sure that you worked hard to achieve the examination results that you did and we are very pleased to be able to offer you this scholarship.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for providing generous funding for this important project, and for their interest in the development of education in South Africa. In addition to support for this programme, Carnegie funds the South African History Project and the study into the National Higher Education Information and Application Service.
Paying for a university or technikon programme is an expense that few South Africans can easily afford. The majority of students attending higher education institutions in this country have to seek some form of financial support. The government already contributes directly to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which assists thousands of tertiary level students every year. I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the direct contributions made by the private sector and family trusts to supporting bursaries and scholarship in our higher education institutions.
Tuition fees can be as expensive as R15 000 or even R20 000 per year, and the cost of accommodation and food expenses, as well as books and travel expenses all add up. With this scholarship, we aim to considerably reduce your financial worries and those of your family. By doing this, we expect that you will be able to concentrate on your studies in higher education and excel at them, as well as enjoy the life that being at university can offer. We also hope that in this way you will become role models for future generations of young women.
You have been identified by your schools as top students. Your presence here is a credit to your school and to yourself. We hope that this scholarship programme will be an added impetus for excellence in schools.
This Scholarship Programme has been set up in part, to address some of the many challenges facing the higher education system in this country. In 1997, we released a White Paper on higher education, which outlined the key vision and goals for higher education in South Africa. In 2001, we released the National Plan for Higher Education, which focuses on the framework and mechanisms for implementing changes to higher education. One of the major areas of focus in the National Plan is that of achieving equity in the higher education system. As you know, the inequities of the past in South Africa have had a major effect on all sectors of society. We have made significant strides in redressing imbalances in the student population in higher education. However, the same cannot be said for the staff profile of our institutions, particularly that of academic staff, which remains skewed.
Overall, women students are well represented in universities and technikons. The enrolment numbers of women in higher education have increased so that in some institutions, female students make up just over half of total student enrolments. However, women are more often than not clustered in particular areas of study, such as the humanities, and much lower numbers of women than men go on to complete post-graduate studies. Women are obviously under-represented in fields such as science and technology, engineering, and business and commerce.
As the Ministry we work closely with higher education institutions to improve their gender equity profiles, requiring them to submit institutional plans with clear strategies for dealing with gender inequities. However, through programmes such as these, we can also directly contribute to breaking down some of the barriers for women in higher education.
The Carnegie-South Africa Scholarship Programme has been set up to address a number of key national policy goals, including increasing the general participation rate in higher education, particularly that of women. By increasing the numbers of women graduates in higher education this programme will contribute to the promotion of gender equity in the system. The Programme has targeted areas where there are national skills needs. These areas are also those in which women are under-represented. We hope that as students on this programme your expectations of higher education will be met, and that you will be able to fulfil your career goals. The research that is planned as part of the project, and in which you will be participating, will begin to shed light on some of the factors that influence the quality of the experience of women in South African higher education, such as institutional cultures.
With that said, it remains for me to wish you the very best in your studies over the next few years. I expect that you will do well in your various fields of study and that some of you will go on to post-graduate study, and to careers in Academia. I hope that you will stay in South Africa in the long term, so that your expertise will not be lost to our country.
I hope also that you will make use of the many services available to you at our higher education institutions and participate fully in all aspects of university life. The scholarship programme will maintain an interest in your progress at university, through our research programme.
Thank you and good luck.
Enquiries: Molatwane Likhethe on 082 573 0397
Issued by Ministry of Education
20 January 2003
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