Perceptions of University of the Witwatersrand students on university funding strategies
Date
2018
Authors
Bore, Nomazondo Joyce
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Abstract
In South Africa access to education for black racially categorized students remains difficult due to discrimination based on their social and economic class. Students from the lower economic class mainly rely on the aid that is provided by the government and the private sector in order to cover their study costs. This study explores the perceptions of the University of the Witwatersrand students regarding higher institution funding strategies. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted on 15 full time registered students. One-on-one face-to-face semi structured interviews were conducted to obtain an in-depth understanding of how students perceive higher institution funding strategies. The findings indicated that the perceptions of students can be divided into three categories; students that perceive funding strategies as ineffective; students that perceive funding strategies as effective and lastly students that perceive funding to be necessary but not accessible and efficient. Factors such as race, economic class, geographical location, the developmental state of the country and knowledge contribute to effectiveness and accessibility of funding strategies. Funding strategies in higher institutions are essential to foster access and allow students to complete their studies. From the findings it would be of benefit to include students and universities when drafting funding model to increase the likelihood of it being effective and efficient.
Keywords: Students, University, Funding strategies, Access to higher institution in South Africa, Higher institution policies.
Description
A research report on a study project presented to
The department of Social Work
School of Human and Community Development
Faculty of Humanities
University of the Witwatersrand
In partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree (BSW) Bachelor of Social Work