A student march ...

Every student with the potential to succeed at tertiary level is surely deserving of the opportunity …

You agree, don’t you?

Academically deserving students are deserving of a decent university education. The sad reality, however, is that many of these deserving students fall by the wayside solely because of a lack of financial support. They simply don’t have to the money to study.

And the present South African bursary pie is neither big enough nor adequately equipped to fairly distribute what it has.

Ask the thousands of promising prospective young students who have been forced to prematurely give up on their career dreams; ask the dozens of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) students who had to stop studying because the promised financial support never materialised; ask the NMMU student who spent many nights sleeping under the boardwalk because his money ran out and the bursary money never arrived.

We shared innumerable stories of heartache earlier this year when the new centralised pilot project for NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) failed to deliver upon so many of its promises and far fewer students at NMMU benefitted from the government initiative than before.

NMMU was one of half a dozen institutions of higher learning to form part of the national pilot project in which the distribution of funding was centralised. The statistics tell their own story:

· Of the 2493 first-years who applied for financial assistance, only 365 were successful (that 14.6%)

· Of the 4 881 senior students who applied, 3 231 were successful (66%) but (at last correspondence)

· Of the 471 BTech students who applied – and all but promised assistance – none received financial support.

In 2013, when NMMU was charging with distributing the NSFAS bursary pie, 3 207 senior and 1 063 first years received funding of varying amounts.

The bottom line – it appears NMMU did a better job than the new centralised team.

And that’s why NMMU students are marching on Thursday at midday.

They’ve issued an invitation for all students to join them in demanding an improved NSFAS system. Alternatively, if this is not possible, they’re asking NMMU to withdraw their support for the centralised national scheme.

Where: Gather at North Campus in front of the Letaba and Lebombo residences

When: At 1pm on Thursday

Route: Along Link Road to the traffic circle and head for South Campus

The students will then hand over a memorandum with their demands for an improved bursary scheme to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Derrick Swartz in front the main building.

It should all be over by 1pm.

It’s good to see students standing up for students, but it will be even better to see the NSFAS fiasco of earlier this year overhauled and improved to give deserving student the opportunity to a better life.

In addition to the march, NMMU's SRC has organised a meeting with NSFAS representatives from Cape Town to engage with students and to communicate their proposed solutions.

The SRC has asked that a NSFAS administrator be permanently stationed at NMMU so that students do not have to contact Cape Town for assistance.

SRC President Luzuko Ntshongwana says, "We're happy some students who have not been funded due to insufficient funds received funding this week. Nonetheless, we still need more funding for deserving students."

Nicely put ... and yes, we're agreed, more funding needs to be found for those deserving students.

NMMU's medical future ... doing it differently

NMMU's proposed medical school is under the spotlight

Tomorrow’s a pretty big day for the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) – and its future.

You see, a small team from the Health Sciences Faculty is off to the Public Health Standing Committee down at the metro’s municipal headquarters at 10am to share insights on our innovative approach to health care education in South Africa.

They want to know what the university has in mind with their “bottom-up” approach to a medical school. They want to know how the university is going to respond to the ever-pressing health care needs of the country, and particularly the Eastern Cape. And they probably want to know how it’s going to impact on their own roles.

With only three doctors for every 100 000 patients, it’s pretty obvious there’s a need to produce young men and women who can respond to that need and serve our province.

The university has already received the thumbs up from several quarters, including those in the health profession. It was singled out for its innovative and realistic approach to health care education at a recent health conference in Cape Town.

“We’re being praised for how we are about to redefine the norm for health services education in South Africa,” says NMMU’s Dr Andrew Crichton, who is part of a large team driving the transformation of university’s Health Science Faculty in readiness for a medical school.

The university’s Council has already given the thumbs up to a blue print for the proposed medical school which has also been positively received by other key stakeholders within the health profession.

“We’re simply doing things differently and in line with the real needs of South Africa.”

Let’s hope the Public Health Standing Committee is in agreement too.

Unlike other tertiary institutions, NMMU will not start out with a fully-fledged medical school but, as shared, take a “bottom-up” approach and focus its curriculum on producing doctors for the realities of the South African context.

Exit and entry levels into the new General Medical Practitioner (GMP) degree, to be introduced in 2018, will also differ from traditional medical schools, along with its innovative trans-disciplinary study approach.

“It’s about being responsive to our public care system – having a real social purpose with real-world impact - and strengthening our national health imperatives. As a comprehensive university, NMMU will distinguish itself from other medical establishments in the way it does things,” says Dr Crichton.

The “bottom up” approach saw the introduction of four-year dietetics and emergency medical care degrees in 2013 and 2013 respectively, along with the much-need pharmacy technician programmes.

A Clinical Associates degree (BCMP) is expected to be introduced in 2016 and the flagship GMP degree in 2018.

But let’s hear what this key group thinks of the innovative plan …

(That means please watch this space).

Staying connected ... onboard

The trip takes 50 minutes. That’s 50 minutes for sleeping, 50 minutes for chatting, 50 minutes for reading, 50 minutes for worrying, 50 minutes for watching Port Elizabeth pass by …

From tomorrow – Friday 22 August – however, passengers will be able to add 50 minutes of free Wi-Fi into the mix.

That’s as it’s going to be for Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) students who use the Blunden bus service from our Missionvale Campus to our Second, North and South campuses in Summerstrand and back again. That’s 50 minutes plus 50 minutes each day – time that can now be spent productively (or unproductively) online.

NMMU students Jamie Wilke (left) and Simone Brewis use the free Wi-Fi on Blunden Buses with owner Shaun Blunden

In a first for Port Elizabeth, Blunden Buses is going to give its passenger free access to Wi-Fi, starting with a pilot project on the 60-seater bus they use to transport our students across the city.

“We want to add value to our passengers. Who uses Wi-Fi the most? Students. That’s why we’re starting with them,” says company owner Shaun Blunden.

NMMU already offers free Wi-Fi on all its campuses.

Once the month-long pilot project is completed, all 76 buses in the Blunden fleet will offer free Wi-Fi.

This will include the 18 buses (from 22 to 60-seater vehicles) that service NMMU students across the city from 6.30am to 10pm daily.

“I can’t wait to see the students’ faces tomorrow morning,” says Shaun, whose company’s involvement with the university started with two buses in 2006.

Next year, the family business plans to launch a mobile app that will enable students to establish the whereabouts of each of its campus-to-campus hopper buses.

  

A first for PE - free Wi-Fi on Blunden's buses

Jika ... it's a fact

Music group Mi Casa is coming to NMMU

Yes, it’s a fact, South Africa’s coolest band is coming to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. That’s Mi Casa, a trio of talented musicians, who are going to share their special brand of swing at a concert to close a successful Diversity Month at the institution.

But did you know, in line with their hit song, Jika, which is Zulu for the truth or a fact, that the band’s lead singer is an Eastern Cape man?

Yes, J-Something may have Portuguese ancestry, but he grew up in Port Alfred, just down the coast from us, and attended school in Grahamstown.

He’s a Graeme boy, who matriculated in 2006.

And perhaps more interesting is that the suave-looking Joao da Fonseca (aka J-Something) was a brilliant sportsman. That’s what they remember. That, and his ability to sing gospel songs.

He played cricket and rugby for the all-boy’s school’s first team.

“He was captain of our first rugby team,” recalls fellow Graeme schoolmate Hlumelo Ncopo, who was a few years behind Joao, and now works for NMMU.

Joao da Fonseca was an excellent sportsman

Another NMMU student who was in grade 8 when the lead singer was in matric, and is now studying Human Movement Science, also recalls his excellence on the sports field.

“He was a brilliant centre,” says Seve.

Music had featured, yes, but not with the force of J-Something’s one-time athletic ability.

Interesting how that happens.

It’s interesting how we people remember in a certain way and are understandably surprised when they do not turn out as we anticipate and are certainly not, as in this case, leading the top music group in the country!

I don’t suppose the Stellenbosch University BCom Marketing graduate hadn’t contemplated life on the music stage either … but destiny has a way of getting in the way.

Legend has it that Joao, and fellow musicians Moshe Kgasonae (Mo-T) and Sipho Mphahlaza met at a roof top party late in 2010 where they put on an impromptu performance …

“The sheer improbability of the group’s existence … three musicians landed up being in the same place, at the same time, with such incredibly strong music chemistry … “ says their promotional material.

Jika or no jika, we’re thrilled that Mi Casa is coming to:

· NMMU’s Vodacom Indoor Centre on South Campus at 7pm on Wednesday 27 April

If you’d like to be there to watch the one-time school sports star and his musical friends, tickets are R10 to staff and students (with your official card) and R20 to the public. These can be obtained from the SRC Chambers on South Campus or at the door.

If you’d like to know more, contact Sesethu on Sesethu.gqomo2@nmmu.ac.za

FOMO ... are you suffering?

If ever there was a time for sufferers of FOMO at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), that month is August …

With so much on the go, staff and students fear they may be missing out as they struggle to make choices. Yes, FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out, is alive and well at NMMU this month since Diversity Month means diaries are sagging under the weight of choices.

Add the now-controversial Talking Walls, Women’s Month and all the usual study and sporting commitments into the mix and you have a smorgasbord of epic event happenings.

It’s hard to keep pace, let alone make choices:

Do you listen to the sports girls or a lunch musical interlude? Do you check out the scientists of the future at the Eskom Science Expo or admire the photographic work of NMMU’s own students at an off-campus exhibition? Or do you challenge yourself on the question of fracking in the Karoo or celebrate “the curves of humanity” at a Women’s Day celebration.

It is happenings overload at NMMU right now.

That’s a good thing, right?

It’s good that the university is exposing its staff and student to a multitude of interesting things – showcasing the very diversity that it is celebrating this month.

For good measure, and for those who want to try to get their FOMO under control, here’s a list of what is known to this office:

· The Richmond Hill Music Festival Photographic Exhibition at Alliance Francais’s premises at 17 Mackay Street, Richmond Hill, until 29 August.

· NMMU conversations – Women’s Month discussion – at Senate Hall, on 21 August from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

· Vocalensemble proton from Austria at South Campus Auditorium from midday on 21 August. Entry free.

· Eskom Expo for Young Scientists at the NMMU Indoor Sports Centre today and tomorrow.

· Unity through Diversity at Student Counselling (on all NMMU campuses) from 12 to 1pm today and tomorrow.

· CANRAD seminar by Prof Allison Drew from the University of York in the United Kingdom from 2pm to 4pm at the Executive Seminar Room, North Campus on 21 August.

· Inaugural lecture of Prof Ncedile Saule at North Campus Conference Centre on 26 August.

· Food for all women in agricultural talk by Prof Edith Vries at George Campus Lecture Theatre from 5.30pm to 7pm on 21 August.

· The Raymond Mhlaba Memorial Lecture with Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform as the keynote speaker from 6pm on 21 August.

And then there’s the country’s most popular music group, Mi Casa, who will be performing on Wednesday 27 August to close off Diversity Month. But more on them soon …

In the interim, if FOMO is getting to you, you can always pop into the special sessions at Student Counselling. We’re sure they’ll oblige in between refreshments and some exploratory thought on sayings and music on unity through diversity …

Be brave enough to start a conversation

The talking walls are on each of NMMU's campuses 

That’s what Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University did … they heeded the call by Higher Education South Africa to try to assess what role higher education might be playing in terms of promoting democracy in South Africa.

They started the conversation by erecting temporary walls – “talking walls” - on all six of our campuses to give staff and students the opportunity to share what democracy means to them anonymously.

And for the most part, participants have responded responsibly citing everything from being able to study at a multi-cultural university to being able to vote.

But of course you always get one …

In fact, in this case, it’s probably three or four.

These are the ones who choose to spoil a perfectly good idea by sharing racist and offensive comments, which flies in the very face of NMMU’s values, and democracy itself.

The very values the university endeavours to instill in its students, like integrity and taking responsibility, are the very ones that are flouted and ignored.

Nasty, negative, racist and downright offensive statements have been shared on at least two of the nine or so boards. And a number of staff and students are not happy – understandably so.

“It tarnishes our reputation,” one highlighted, and indeed it does. Few of our 27 000 students would want to be associated with those who spew forth such venomous hate speech, but that’s life, isn’t it?

There is always one or more who will ruin it for the rest because I would hate to think that the majority of our students, the Born Frees, are racist. Most have moved on or certainly want to move beyond things that categorise them according to their colour.

We’re embarrassed by the horrible comments too because it’s Diversity Month at NMMU – a time when we celebrate our differences and how they enrich our lives.

These “talking walls” are aimed at enriching our lives by giving those who work and study here the opportunity – in line with HESA’s call – to have their say.

After all, a university, a place of higher learning, is the ideal platform for such discussions to take place. It is part of what we are meant to do. We are meant to provide folk with a safe space for sharing.

Yes, we’re meant to have critical conversations, we’re meant to be brave enough to start the conversation …

We were brave enough.

And now we’ve got to be brave, bold and honest enough in handling the fall-out (I have no doubt the media will follow up). We’ve got to acknowledge that though we have come a long way during the first 20 years of our democracy, we still have a long way to go …

After all, the writing is on the wall (literally).

Physically diverse but equally committed

Zanele Mdodana

Jolynn Minnaar

One is as tall as the other is short; one as dark as the other white and one as glam as the other is casually chic.

On the surface the two women – both guest speakers during Diversity Month at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on Monday 18 August – are worlds apart. They come from vastly different backgrounds too, but there’s more that unifies these women than makes them different.

So please meet Zanele Mdodana, the physically tall, dark, glamorous woman (when she’s not dashing about the netball court) and Jolynn Minnaar, the slightly-built, casually-dressed white woman.

Both have made their mark. Zanele as an exemplary Proteas netball player, a Laureas Sport ambassador and more recently as founder of the project “Vision Girls Foundation” and Jolynn as a talented film-maker and driving force in the concerns around fracking in the Karoo.

Zanele grew up in a Port Elizabeth township, Jolynn on a farm in the Karoo.

Their backgrounds and life experiences stand in complete opposition to one another, yet there’s more that unites than divides these young women.

Drive, perseverance, commitment and a sense of purpose unites them.

It’s the latter that makes both women exceptional.

Zanele, who is also an NMMU staff member with Madibaz Sport, wants to use her God-given talents to serve others, to be a role model and provide hope to netball players of tomorrow in Port Elizabeth and beyond.

Likewise, Jolynn is using her talents as a film-maker and the insights she gathered while tracing the gas industry in America, to trigger thinking as to whether shale gas really is the solution for our energy-hungry world.

Both are driven by a sense of purpose.

And both women will be talking about their passion and purpose on Monday at NMMU.

It's about passion and a sense of purpose 

Jolynn will also screening her film Unearthed – an investigative documentary that probes fracking in America. She spent five months in North America – from New Brunswick, Canada, to Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to Colorado – during which time she traced the gas industry and met scientists, gas companies and those living in gas drilling areas, to fully research this method of gas extraction.

All in all, Unearthed is the result of 18 months of research, over 400 interviews, a large number of gag orders, no trespassing zones and the reality of being exposed first-hand to chemicals on drilling sites.

But let Jolynn tell you more.

Here are the details:

Date: Monday 18 August

Time: 5.30pm to 8pm & again from 8pm to 9.30pm (two screenings)

Venue: NMMU South Campus Council Chambers

RSVP: marcelledutoil@gmail.com

The film received the WorldView award at the Durban FilmMart for the feature film, which was one of only eight of 106 submissions across Africa selected to participate. It has also since been viewed in Cape Town, Johannesburg and the United Kingdom.

Zanele in action as a Proteas netball player

And let Zanele, along with NMMU honours student Zanele Vimbela, share their experiences about netball with you at the recent Commonwealth Games. But you’ve been warned, Zanele Mdodana is likely to take you off the court because she has a purpose in life – and it goes beyond the confines of playing netball.

Here are the details:

Date: Monday 18 August

Time: 12pm to 1.30pm

Venue: Chancellor’s Room, Sports Centre, South Campus

RSVP: Boiketlo.mongoato@nmmu.a.c.za

Thanks CANRAD (our Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism & Democracy) for providing such diverse speakers and topics knowing, however, that there’s more that unites than divides them.