The South African Union of Students has welcomed the R30 million donation by the Motsepe Foundation to Student Representative Council funds across all universities in South Africa.
SAUS says this donation is very generous and is critical as many students struggle to register for the 2023 academic year due to historical debt.
The CEO and Co-founder of the Motsepe Foundation, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe announced that they would be donating R30 million to 26 university SRCs to help with student registration, fees and historical debt.
The Foundation says that it hopes this donation encourages support from the private and non-profit stakeholders who will benefit from a skilled and education youth population.
SAUS has called on other private sector stakeholders and foundations to respond positively by matching or topping the donation made by the Motsepe Foundation.
The union is pleased with the fact that the funds were donated directly to SRCs which they say is crucial to empowering and capacitating SRCs to implement the mandate of servicing students across the country.
SAUS believes that the R30 million will assist in the funding crisis of missing middle students, particularly those with outstanding fees.
The Motsepe Foundation said the identification of students who need to be supported will be conducted in partnership with the 26 SRCs.
The Foundation has also allocated 300 new bursaries for students at schools and universities for the 2023 academic year.
