Faculty strengthen its relationship with schools

Happy times: Prof Paula Ensor, centre, with Nabilah Johnstone, Inge Salo, Sameer Charles, and Zandile Mnwana during the launch of a new scholarship initiative in the Faculty of Humanities.

The Faculty of Humanities at UCT took its engagement with local schools to a higher level by launching a scholarship programme that targets disadvantaged learners.

This year, the faculty awarded five new school-based scholarships to learners from five schools that are not traditional feeders to the faculty.

The idea was to establish a faculty-level relationship with the schools with a view to attract an increasing number of applicants to the faculty in future.

The beneficiaries are Nabilah Johnstone from Harold Cressy High, now a BSocSci student; Thandokhulu High's Zandile Mnwana, who is also doing her BsocSci; BA student Inge Salo from Livingstone High; and BSocSci student Charles Sameer from Plumstead High. The fifth recipient, Hayley Jansen from South Peninsula High School, died in car accident in April, but the relationship between the faculty and the school continues.

On 29 August, the four students, together with their parents and representatives from their high schools, celebrated the launch of the scholarships with staff from the faculty.

Professor Paula Ensor, dean of the Faculty of Humanities, said the event was the beginning of a "long, fruitful relationship " between the faculty and the schools.

The relationship, which they intend to extend to other schools, would help the faculty achieve its diversity goals, while fulfilling the students' dreams of going to a university, added Ensor.

Dr Jessica Tiffin, student development officer at the faculty, described as "tragic" the fact that learners from the schools were not coming to the humanities faculty, and said the initiative would raise the profile of the university.

"We hope to make you the recruitment agents and you must speak to your peers about coming to UCT," said Tiffin to the students.