Change the world

01/02/2018

The start of the 2018 academic year is proceeding smoothly at Nelson Mandela University in spite of the additional challenges of facilitating the new Government bursary funding benefits.

Senior NSFAS-loan students are finally able to register after a two-week wait from the Government financial aid scheme, and the information necessary for first-year first-time entering students who qualify for the new DHET bursary is being captured through an ICT solution developed internally. Orientation is also well underway this week ahead of the start of lectures on Monday, 5 February.

Registration

As at the end of business yesterday, 12 862 students had registered – about 30% more than at the same time last year. Of this figure, 5083 are new undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Registration is set to close on 2 February.

Registration of senior students online is expected to rapidly increase following the belated release of relevant information from NSFAS.

NSFAS/DHET bursaries
Please note that NSFAS only funds undergraduate students studying towards their first qualification.

Students who intend studying for a postgraduate course that requires practise in a professional field e.g. Postgraduate Certificate in Education and certain BTech programmes, may also be funded by NSFAS (see attached list) as well as the Advanced Diploma Accounting. No other postgraduate courses are funded by NSFAS. Furthermore, diploma students who are accepted for postgraduate courses are also not funded by NSFAS, e.g. Advanced Diploma Management.

Also, please note that if you were an undergraduate diploma NSFAS-funded student and wish to enrol for a postgraduate course that is not funded by NSFAS, you will be allowed to register without having to pay the required down payment.

Welcoming Ceremony
The traditional welcome by the University’s new Vice-Chancellor Prof Sibongile Muthwa to thousands of first year students and their parents and guardians across 19 venues in North, South, Second Avenue and George campuses on Saturday morning generally went well.

Read the Vice-Chancellor’s speech

Further fun insights into Saturday’s Welcoming Ceremony event can be viewed on our Facebook page.

Feedback
As a means of further improving this event, please forward your suggestions, concerns and ideas to csl@mandela.ac.za

Contact information
Ms Zandile Mbabela
Media Manager
Tel: 0415042777
Zandile.Mbabela@mandela.ac.za