The student debt dilemma was seen to be a challenge that will have a negative impact on both students and higher education institutions at the start of the 2023 academic year. One of the country’s 26 universities has come with a solution that will benefit both institutions and students.
Universities South Africa (USAf) revealed that student debt stood at R16.5bn in March this year. In the 2023 academic year, 120 000 students may not be able to graduate because they owe higher education institutions and this cohort of students collectively owes universities around R7 billion.
The University of South Africa (Unisa) has formed a partnership with Feenix, an online crowdfunding platform, to launch a campaign to help students raise funds for their own studies.
According to the university, this campaign is aimed at bringing together alumni, donors, staff members and communities to help raise funds for students they wish to support.
Over R500 000 has been disbursed to Unisa through Feenix. This is a safe and yet convenient way of supporting students as Unisa will receive the financial donations made directly to the university’s account.
According to the university, all funds received in the form of donations are to be administered by the Unisa Foundation. This campaign will run throughout the course of the year.
Individuals or stakeholders who would like to pay it forward by making a donation, may visit the crowdfunding platforms website for more information.
Registered Unisa students have been invited to register on the Feenix platform to be able to benefit from this campaign.
