Monyetla Bursary Project is a Public Benefit Organisation managing an intervention program for matrics. Classes are conducted on Saturdays as well as during the Winter Holidays on the UFS South Campus. IBL transports 550 matrics from Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo to attend classes at UFS South Campus every Saturday. In 2018, matrics from Botshabelo who attended regularly had a 100% pass rate. In most of the 14 subjects presented, Monyetla Project learners achieved 10% better than the Free State Average. In Life Sciences and Geography in 2018, Monyetla matrics obtained 12% higher and Mathematics was 15% higher than the Free State Province. Motheo District was the district in South Africa with the highest Geography marks. This year the registrations have increased to 1500 from 45 different schools.
Matrics receive notes every Saturday and, in addition to tuition by Master Teachers on Saturdays, learners get video lessons on their cell phones to watch at home. They also log into the Monyetla d6 App to get typical exam questions and answers from previous years on their cell phones. This is of great help in preparing for the end of the year exams.
Interstate Bus Lines’ sponsorship enables the Monyetla Bursary Project to help matrics who perform well to get bursaries to study at tertiary institutions. The Monyetla Bursary Project has staff members dedicated to finding bursaries for matrics who meet the requirements.
IBL’s involvement also affords matrics the opportunity to attend the Monyetla Leadership Academy and to be trained in the skill of Computer Coding. This is a powerful skill, not part of the school curriculum, but learners can create an income for themselves with this knowledge. The Monyetla Bursary Project does more than provide excellent tuition for matrics. They also train learners how to prepare for the National Benchmark Test (NBT’s). All matrics have to write this test at university before starting tertiary education.
The Winter School conducted during the June holidays, draws matrics from all over the Free State Province. Learners came from as far as the North West Province, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape. Interstate Bus Lines transported deaf matriculants from Bartimea School every day to the Winter School. These learners became part of the main-stream class. Lessons for Mathematics, Accounting, English and CAT were interpreted simultaneously into Sign Language.
It is now the 8th year that Interstate Bus Lines transports matrics from Thaba Nchu, Botshabelo, Ladybrand and Brandfort on Saturdays to the Monyetla Bursary Project. Learners from Hodisa Technical School are also transported by IBL to Monyetla Project every Saturday without cost. Last year, IBL’s sponsorship amounted to more than R400 000 to cover the transport costs for learners from these communities.
Interstate Bus Lines also transported all of its sponsored matrics free of charge to career guidance days such as the open days presented at UFS and CUT. IBL also assisted Monyetla learners with transport when they go to Science Expos or training to participate in the Expo.
For more information, please visit www.monyetlaproject.co.za or Google Monyetla Bursary Project or visit the Monyetla Bursary project Facebook page.
With this, we wish all matrics and their parents all of the best for the upcoming Preliminary Exams.
Chris Grobler – Program Coordinator: Monyetla Bursary Project
