Support programmes: from a local perspective

Abstract

As South Africa is going through major acts of transformation, its higher education system certainly reflects many of those changes and re-structuring. This paper presents a local perspective; starting from the wider scope of higher education, to the particulars of a university and finally the details of one of its support programmes. The University of Witwatersrand is used here as an example to demonstrate how recent challenges are being met and what are the means currently used to address issues of equity and justice in education. The paper reviews the programme of the School of Construction Economics and Management and highlights its attempts to be in-line with the broader university commitments and national policies. It mainly concentrates on the school's effort regarding financial and academic support to its previously disadvantaged students. It reviews the development and highlights the different formats for such support. That support, the paper argues, is an absolute necessity for the students at this point in time to ensure their success and their positive, meaningful contribution to this fast-developing society.

Keywords: academic development, South Africa, support programme

Botswana Journal of Technology Vol 14(1) 2005: 71-75