Teeing off to support higher education

Alumni

Dr Keith Jacobs (Regional Director: Western Cape) welcomed guests.

A drive to have as many sectors as possible support the provision of education in South Africa saw golfers from the Western Cape come together on 21 April 2017, at Clovelly Golf Course, Fish Hoek, for the second Shaping Futures Golf Challenge, held annually in the region. The event, which was a phenomenal success, is held to garner the support of both public and private sectors to understand the role they can play in higher education with a particular focus on funding and partnerships for access and success.

Main speaker of the prize-giving dinner, Frankie Mojapelo, Deputy Director of the Institutional Advancement Directorate, indicated that 2017 is set to be another testing year for higher education, particularly with the students’ relentless demand for free education and financial support. “Tertiary fee increases have been capped at 8% for the 2017 period and continues to widen the financial gap for many other higher education institutions within South Africa.”

He highlighted that the university delivers 12,5% of all degrees conferred in South Africa and that is why it continues to play an important role in the provision of education, skills, and the development of the country and the continent. “Unisa is expected to play an even bigger role in line with national priorities, which are to promote access to higher education and increase the higher education enrolment to 1,5 million students by 2030, representing a participation rate of 23% as stated in the Department of Higher Education and Training, 2012.”

According to Mojapelo, the golf challenge was brought together with the expectation of an even bigger role to be played by donors and partners to find ways of giving support to Unisa and its students. “Students choose to study through Unisa because it is accessible and affordable. However, the majority of our students come from poor or working class homes and thus require financial aid to access and succeed at our university.”

Frankie Mojapelo (Deputy Director: Institutional Advancement) addressing golfers about Unisa’s drive for education

“One of our priorities as a university is that whenever there are fee increases, they should remain reasonable, responsible, and sustainable. More strategic partnerships are thus needed to be formed with organisations in the different sectors in order to have a meaningful impact in enabling more access to education,” said Mojapelo.

Sponsors: Van Schaik Bookstore, Devman, Golden Arrows, BCD Travel, Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence Cape Town, aQuelle, Durbanville Hills, Boucheron Wines, Cape Events Management and Venue Hire, Bogie Golf Spa, Pro Frans, South African National Parks, Blackstone Security Services, Volkswagen Barons, and Tailgating added to the success of the event by sponsoring holes and prizes for the winners.

The prize-giving dinner was directed by Abongile Nzelenzele, the Cape Talk show host. Dr Keith Jacobs, Regional Director of Unisa Western Cape, kept the guests captivated with golf anecdotes as he welcomed them to the event.

Winners of the Better Ball Stableford

Longest day individual golfer

Dawid van den Berg—12 points

Best individual golfer

Ralph Greenlees—43 points o.c.o

Nearest to the pin #8

Michael Fredericks

Nearest to the pin #17

Michael Fredericks

Diarise the following golf challenges

Unisa Limpopo and Waterberg Shaping Futures Golf Challenge—23 June 2017

Unisa KZN Shaping Futures Golf Challenge—14 July 2017

Unisa Gauteng Shaping Futures Golf Challenge—6 October 2017

*By Busisiwe Mahlangu

Save

Publish date: 2017-05-05 00:00:00.0