#south african universities

[redefinemyworld]

You know, I've been here a while watching the sag-aftra and the writers strike quite aptly as a 19 year old university student who's only other hobby is literally consuming media so this is kind of important to me and I'm not gonna lie it makes me kind of sad.

But not in the way anyone would think. Before we jump to conclusions I am in full support of all the strikes. Don't stop until you get the compensation you deserve.

But it makes me sad because for context I'm South African. I go to university on a financial aid scheme created by the government and lately out government has been getting worse and worse. Showing its stripes worse and worse. And so I'm not shocked that their financial aid scheme is showing funny changed.

So the financial aid scheme is call Nationtional Student Financial Aid Scheme, it became a bursary (scholarship) a few years ago after a bunch of "fee must fall strikes" which were in response to high tertiary school fees. That happened while I was in primary school (around grade 7) and it now funds disadvantaged students whose families earn a household income of less than ZAR350000 per annum ($19520, €17538, £15172).

Okay cool. Nice. But what it doesn't take into account are middle income families earning over that threshold but are still unable to afford school fees, either because there's many mouths to feed in a household or because they are just part of the missing middle but that's not the chat.

As much as I see #treelaw trending I also wanna see NSFAS trending. I want to see tumblr talking about all these things cause they are such a big fucking deal.

Usually how the scheme works is they send money to the university that pays tuition, the university also distributes the accommodation and living allowance to the funded students. Recently, the scheme has changed and they decided to create a bank account that sends students living allowances straight to them and here's where the problem starts.

There was a bid to decide which corporation/banks would be in charge of creating this specific NSFAS student bank account and a bunch of corporations no one has ever heard of outbid the largest banks and organisations in the country. The company is called Noracco, eZaga, Coinvest and Tenet.

Now here's where things get silly goofy.

They are not a registered financial service provider. They barely even have a fucking website. And they are handling people's livelihoods and billions of South African Rands. Only one of the corporations is connected to an authorised financial service provider which is eZaga. (How this was not a requirement I have no idea)

Students are not getting their living allowances. This means no groceries, no transport home, toiletries, nothing. Keep in mind these are disadvantaged students. No one is getting extra money from home to help them with such expenses

They have terrible service. No phone calls, emails nothing is answered.

They have insanely high bank charges. This takes advantage of so many students and uses up what little allowance money they have to live. A student usually receives around R1600 for a month (which is around 89USD)

You can't spend more than a capped amount of money a day, which is incredibly inconvenient when shopping for groceries as one can spend almost R800 (44USD) on groceries plus an extra R50-R100 (3-8 USD) for transportation.

This was started in the middle of the school year (February-November is how the year works here, it started in June/July for universities and TVETs had been introduced to in 2022 and have been striking against it since)

Students are out here SUFFERING and there is no one helping!!! We are being THREATENED to participate in this sham with out living allowances being WITHHELD FROM US.

The financial abuse is soooo real

I know im talking into the void but I'm hoping and praying that this catches someone's attention enough for people to start talking about it.

Here are a bunch of articles calling out this weird, Obviously corrupt organisations that answer anything that doesn't currently have any links connected to it.

The public protector has also recently been assigned to investigate.

https://www.outa.co.za/blog/newsroom-1/post/nsfas-what-are-you-doing-with-student-funds-1233

https://www.da.org.za/2023/07/da-raises-alarm-over-nsfas-direct-payment-system

https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Announcements/Unisa-has-taken-note-of-concerns-raised-by-students-regarding-direct-payment-system

https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/fraudulent-withdrawals-from-nsfas-funded-students-accounts-threaten-their-future-a4a47850-bad4-45e9-a30f-9b8b48a08998

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2023-07-10-tut-students-reject-new-banking-system-for-nsfas-beneficiaries/

On top of this, NSFAS has also been defending thousands of students nationally referring to them as "undeserving". While I understand there are some people who take advantage of them system specifically for underprivileged students the way they went about it is not the best.

Students are actively being thrown out of their residents and accommodations and being de-registered from their institutions. Questions have been put in place as to what is deemed as undeserving but all NSFAS can claim is students who are financially and/or academically ineligible refusing to take into account student circumstances.

At the end of the day, every student uses the scheme the same way. And sure sometimes there's someone with a household with more than R350000 p/a benefiting but personally, I don't see anything wrong with someone having a little extra pocket money. There is no reason anyone, anywhere should be forced to live on a to make ends meet budget.

This was not the best layout. It was probably messy and all over the place, but I have never really written something this long, complex and detailed for tumblr. It's missing so many important details and contexts that I'm hoping anyone who cares to read will find out more about and help give us a voice.

We just want to learn without worrying about where we're going to sleep or what we're going to eat.

Please any attention is good, just to put pressure on the people in charge. Please let's get tree law and fund the defended trending together. ❤️

[jareckiworld]

Olaf Bisschoff — R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots, Karel Čapek, 1920) [oil and canvas, on board, 2023]

[longliveblackness]

Stephen Bantu Biko

Stephen Biko was born in 1946, in King William's Town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. As a medical student at the University of Natal, he was involved with the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) and went on to found the South African Students' Association (SASO).

At a time when the African National Congress and Pan-Africanist Congress were banned by the government, SASO filled the political vacuum by evolving into the Black Consciousness Movement.

In 1972 Biko was expelled from the university, and the following year he was banned by the authorities. Despite this, he played a key role in organizing the protests that culminated in the Soweto Uprising of 1976.

He helped to unite over 70 black consciousness groups which helped to develop the Black Consciousness Movement and help advance the liberation struggle, building a vanguard party.

He was banned between 1975 and 1977 and caught, arrested and in police detention September 12, 1977 after being beaten mercilessly, he slipped into a coma to his death.

Although Biko never lived to write his memoirs, he left behind some revealing documents. African Lives includes a portion of an interview Biko gave to an American businessman a few months before he was detained and beaten to death.

He was assassinated because he represented power of African unity and the black consciousness and courage of the people. Long live the life, consciousness, courage, contributions and legacy of Stephen Bantu Biko. May his spirit live and manifest in future generations.

•••

Stephen Bantu Biko

Stephen Biko nació en 1946 en la ciudad del Rey William en la Provincia del Cabo, Sudáfrica. Cómo estudiante de medicina en la Universidad de Natal, estuvo involucrado con la Unión Nacional de Estudiantes Sudafricanos (NUSAS) y luego fundó la Organización de Estudiantes Sudafricanos (SASO).

En un tiempo en el cual el Congreso Nacional Africano y el Congreso Pan-Africanista fueron prohibidos por el gobierno, SASO llenó la aspiradora política al evolucionar y convertirse en el Movimiento de Conciencia Negra.

En 1972, Biko fue expulsado de la universidad y al año siguiente fue exiliado por las autoridades. A pesar de esto, él jugó un rol importante en organizar las protestas que llevaron a la Rebelión de Soweto de 1976.

Ayudó a unir alrededor de setenta grupos de conciencia negra, lo cual ayudó a desarrollar el Movimiento de Conciencia Negra y ayudó con los avances para la lucha por la liberación, así creando un partido vanguardista.

Fue exiliado desde el año 1975 hasta 1977 y el 12 de septiembre de 1977, fue arrestando y puesto bajo detención policial. Luego de haber sido atacado sin piedad alguna, cayó en coma y falleció.

Aunque Biko nunca vivió lo suficiente para escribir su autobiografía, dejó unos documentos muy reveladores. Vidas Africanas incluye una porción de una entrevista que Biko le dio a un empresario estadounidense unos meses antes de que fuese detenido y golpeado hasta morir.

Fue asesinado porque él representaba el poder de la unidad africana, la conciencia negra y la valentía del pueblo. Larga vida a la vida, al conocimiento, a la valentía, contribuciones y legado de Stephen Bantu Biko. Que su espíritu viva y se manifieste en futuras generaciones.

[mirkobloom77]

‼️🇵🇸🎓 ‘Change starts on college campuses’: From South African apartheid to Vietnam War: On campus encampments supporting Gaza

🔸 Source: Al Jazeera, with Urooba Jamal

⬇️ A video on a very similar topic

⬇️ A list of the universities that have joined the movement so far (as of 24th of April, 10:46 in GMT-6 time)

[starringcupidpodcast]

Ep. 13: Kory + Dick 💕

This week we're taking down baddies and looking at the superhero lovebirds, Kory Anders and Dick Grayson from Titans. Better known as Starfire and Nightwing.

Join Zama as she giggles about her crushes, dives into why Dick had a lot to prove, how Kory was dealing with her Hamlet-esque dilemma, and why their pairing is mutually beneficial. We take this DC themed chat into the week's battle.

Do be sure to follow us on Twitter @StarringCupid and on Tumblr @ Starringcupidpodcast. South African Lovers, don't forget to register to vote.

BONUS

[kemetic-dreams]

Lorenzo Dow Turner (1890 –1972)

Was an academic and linguist who conducted seminal research on the Gullah language of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. He earned a master's degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. from the Univ. of Chicago. He taught at Howard Univ. (1917-1928) and Fisk Univ. (1929 – 1946) and traveled West Africa, identifying over 300 (Mende, Vai, Fulani) Gullah loanwords and 4,000 personal names. He published his findings in his book “Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1949).

[theknitpotato]

Fannie Jackson Coppin (1837-1913)

Fannie Jackson was born a slave in Washington D.C. on October 15, 1837. She gained her freedom when her aunt was able to purchase her at the age of twelve. Through her teen years Jackson worked as a servant for the author George Henry Calvert and in 1860 she enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio. Oberlin College was the first college in the United States to accepted both black and female students.

While attending Oberlin College Jackson enrolled and excelled in the men’s course of studies. She was elected to the highly respected Young Ladies Literary Society and was the first African American student to be appointed in the College’s preparatory department. As the Civil War came to an end she established a night school in Oberlin in order to educate freed slaves.

Upon her graduation in 1865, Jackson became a high school teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY) in Philadelphia. Within a year she was promoted to principal of the Ladies Department and taught Greek, Latin, and Mathematics at the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY), a high school for African American students in Philadelphia. In 1869 Jackson became principal of the entire institute, making her the first African American woman to receive the title of school principal, a position she would hold until 1906.

In addition to providing African American youth with education, Jackson founded homes for working and poor women. She also was an influential columnist who defended the rights of women and blacks in local Philadelphia newspapers. Jackson added missionary work to her long list of accomplishments when she married Rev. Levi Jenkins Coppin, a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church on December 21, 1881. In 1902 the married couple went to South Africa and founded the Bethel Institute, a missionary school which emphasized self-help programs.

After a decade of missionary work, Coppin returned to Philadelphia because of declining health. Fannie Jackson Coppin died on January 21, 1913. In 1926, a Baltimore, Maryland teacher training school was named the Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School in her memory. It is now Coppin State University.

[autogeneity]

the thing about psychology studies having wack methodologies is fully true and I see it all the time but at the same time it's so fucking weird to me because like...even at like, 2nd year level at my uni if I'd submitted some shit like that in a research proposal they'd probably like call me in for a discussion lol. my psych department's standards and scrutiny was actually way higher than a lot of other departments'.

[afrotumble]

Zozibini Tunzi. Miss Universe 2019.

[blac-fae]

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

Day 5 - productivity

Today I spent a full afternoon with my mom after so long TT i missed her!!

But today I only had two classes with two assignments I worked on for two hours each. This challenge is really ugh ,,, challenging.

But I’m grateful for each day I get to put myself to the test, with just a few distractions…

Good luck to me for the rest of the week💌

[newwavenewsandentertainment]

Burna Boy Sparks Controversy Over Miss South Africa Pageant and Provokes Online Debate

🚨 New Post Alert! 🚨 Burna Boy is at it again! The Afrobeat superstar has sparked a heated online debate with his comments on the recent Miss South Africa pageant.

[nickysfacts]

The Cradle of Humankind is both a natural and man made wonder of the world!

☠️🇿🇦☠️

[readingsquotes]

"From ‘Mandela Hall’ to ‘Hind’s Hall’

At the invitations of university administrators nationwide, police clad in riot gear have, over the last few weeks, swarmed campuses, arresting thousands of protesters peacefully calling for the very thing students were demanding more than two decades ago.

At Columbia, president Minouche Shafik invited the notoriously brutal NYPD in against the very student body she is charged with protecting and appearing to give them carte blanche to carry out the largest on-campus mass arrests since 1968. Some of the most distressing images came out of Hamilton Hall, a Columbia building that students occupied demanding divestment from Israel, financial transparency over the university’s $14 billion endowment, and amnesty for all the student participants. Instead of entering a serious and genuine dialogue over those demands, including divestment, the university allowed police to arrest and assault protesters. According to Students for Justice in Palestine, police pushed one student down the stairs, rendering them unconscious, after which point they were denied medical care. 

Despite this disproportionate violence, Columbia students are carrying on a proud legacy. In the last seven months of Israel’s relentless assault and nightmarish genocide, it was footage of Columbia students unfurling a banner renaming Hamilton “Hind’s Hall” after the six-year-old martyr Hind Rajab that gave me an electrical feeling I had almost forgotten: hope. Hind sat in a car with her murdered family, her small voice trembling on a phone line to the Palestinian Red Crescent as she begged to be rescued from Israeli fire only to be killed by them too. “We cannot act for our Palestinian comrades,” the Columbia student communique read, “but we see them; we are with them.” It was signed on behalf of The People’s University for a Liberated Palestine and released on the 206th day of Israel’s genocide.

It was their forebearers who,less than four decades earlier, occupied the same Hamilton Hall for about three weeks, chaining and padlocking its doors shut and renaming it “Mandela Hall” – in order to force divestment from apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. It was their agitation that made Columbia University, in 1985, the first Ivy League school to announce it would sever all financial links with the apartheid regime, committing to divest 4% of its portfolio.

...

Americans keep wondering what has ‘got into’ the students,” the writer James Baldwin wrote during the civil rights movement and the era of Vietnam war protests, “what has ‘got into’ them is their history in this country.”

[moderndaypandora]

most surprising thing about having a kiwi for a brother-in-law? just non-stop jokes at his expense about being australian from internationally aware people who know better and choose violence every single day. incredible energy. welcome to the us, bitch.

[doculicious]

Nikki "Anti-Black People" Haley lost the 2024 New Hampshire presidential primary. Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands each have their Republican Caucus on February 8. February 24 will be the South Carolina Republican Primary. I don't expect Nikki Haley to win her home state of South Carolina.

Her comments in New Hampshire in 2023 about the Civil War and Slavery during the days of Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1) were a dog whistle to get certain voters in the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary January 2024. As the governor of South Carolina where she was born and grew up in she saw firsthand that the American Civil War was about Slavery. For years she has gone by Civil War battlefieds, Confederate monuments, Dixie flags, slave plantations and slave cabins in South Carolina. She might have even stumbled upon a Klan rally once by accident. Her father taught at an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) in South Carolina. A result of the USA not wanting black students at white colleges in the 1800 and 1900s. White schools still don't want black students in this new century. I digress. Maybe she didn't like that growing up it was black students tuition and fees that were paying the bills at her house.

Hating black people does not stop you from being president of the USA. Take your pick of past racist presidents and those who owned slaves. The problem with her is that she is South Asian and wants to further their ability to come to America like her parents did. You can't do that if you are in basic denial of factual history of the USA that she in South Carolina can see every single day.

I am sure that while she campaigning in New Hampshire she did not stop and visit the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth New Hampshire. Slavery started in the North and ended in the South.

[conandaily2022]

What mentorship programs does Miss Universe South Africa 2023 Bryoni Govender want to introduce?

Miss Universe South Africa 2023 Bryoni Natalie Govender, 27, of Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa never allows a setback to determine her destination. She describes herself as a tenacious woman.