Cape Town - Stellenbosch University (SU) has teamed up with a crowdfunding organisation, Feenix, in a bid to intensify efforts to ensure that no student is denied access to higher education based on their financial struggles.
The initiative #Action4Inclusion was launched last year to support students who could not register for the next academic year owing to outstanding fees, as well as graduates who could not access their academic records upon graduation, thereby hampering their capacity to contribute to a talented workforce.
Feenix's chief operations officer Leana de Beer said they were excited to join hands with SU on their campaign, focusing on assisting students to crowdfund for their historical debt.
“Collaboration is critical for driving social change in South Africa and we believe partnerships like these showcase just that,” said De Beer.
SU’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers said the university firmly believes that no deserving student should be denied access to higher education based on their financial struggles.
“SU commits a substantial portion of its income generated through state subsidies and student fees, to student bursaries each year. However, the university is experiencing increased financial strain as state subsidies for universities have progressively declined,” said De Villiers.
He said significant amounts of outstanding student debt further exacerbated their concerns as they could not write off the money owed to the university because it was crucial to sustaining their operations.
SU’s Law Trust Chairperson in Social Justice, Professor Thuli Madonsela, said the plight of students who were overburdened by university fees debt was of great concern.
Madonsela said many students from under-resourced backgrounds struggled to pay their university fees and were often at risk of dropping out.
“Through the #Action4Inclusion campaign we seek to ensure academic inclusion of all our students by clearing their debt,” she said.
Those who wish to donate and ease the burden of student debt could go to https://feenix.org/campaign/78.