OVERVIEW
Education and training A new boarding school will assist rural children.
SECTOR INSIGHT 85 students are studying in Russia.
T
he opening of the Thaba Chweu Boarding School in the Ehlanzeni District will make access to education easier for rural children who would otherwise have to travel long distances. Two new schools will also be completed in 2019, in the City of Mbombela and in eMalahleni. The Provincial Government of Mpumalanga has teamed up with the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector SETA to send 85 students to Russia. The SETA will pay for 35 students in areas that have been identified as critical, namely medicine, civil engineering, veterinary science, aviation/aeronautical studies and information technology. Sasol offers an all-inclusive bursary for students in engineering, science and accounting. The bursary also has performance-based awards and allowances for things like laptops and calculators. Sasol has also committed to taking on qualified apprentices from the Hydra Arc academy in Secunda. The University of Mpumalanga enrolled 3 220 students in 2019, a marked increase on humble beginnings in 2014 when the university
ONLINE RESOURCES Mpumalanga Department of Education: www.mpumalanga.gov.za/education Sasol bursaries: www.sasolbursaries.com Southern African Wildlife College: www.wildlifecollege.org.za University of Mpumalanga: www.ump.ac.za
MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2019/20
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started life with 167 students. The university has added bachelor’s degrees in arts and commerce to its initial offering of academic courses in education and agriculture and a diploma in hospitality. Geology will soon be offered as part of a BSc. T he main campus is at Mbombela with satellites at Siyabuswa (a former education college) and KaNyamazane, which hosts hospitality studies. Mpumalanga has thre e Te chni c al an d Vo c ati o nal Education and Training (TVET) Colleges, with an enrolment of over 36 000. UNISA, the Tshwane University of Technology and the Vaal University of Technology also have satellite campuses in the province. The Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust (MRTT) is a Section 21 company with several sites in the province, including a Hospitality and Tourism Academy at Karino outside Nelspruit. The trust’s construction-training facility is accredited as a Construction Centre of Excellence. The Southern African Wildlife College is located near the Orpen Gate on the edge of the Kruger National Park.
