Publications
Partners
For university students like Martha Kapu (20), paying for textbooks and groceries are just a couple of expenses she had to worry about at the University of Johannesburg, in addition to tuition.
Before receiving aid from the missing middle fund at UJ, she said she had to borrow textbooks from other students and her parents struggled to cover the costs of her education.
Her parents took out loans from the bank and they asked other people for money to help cover the cost of her tuition. It was emotional, she said.
“I would not be here without the funding I got,” Kapu said. “It makes a difference.”
However, the missing middle fund isn’t necessarily a fund for “poor” students. It is a fund for students who are considered “too rich” to receive funding from the National Student Financial Scheme (NSFAS) and “too poor” to receive a loan.
“There’s a lot of issues that affect university students on a daily basis,” said Anisa Mazimpaka (22), former interim president of the Student Representative Council at UJ.
“From people needing meal assistance to financial, tuition and books. It’s all kinds of problems and troubles. But with the university having this initiative in place, it allows the university to bridge the gap and assist students where they can.”
In 2016, UJ launched the “UJ Missing Middle Campaign” in an effort to support middle-class students. It was one of the biggest fund-raising campaigns undertaken by a South African institute of higher education. Mazimpaka and the student council assisted the university in raising funds.
“In 2016, the university’s missing middle campaign secured more than a R100 million through which the university, working with the UJ student representative council, was able to assist more than 3000 students by paying their registration fees and minimum initial payments for the 2016 academic year,” said Nolwazi Mamorare, executive director of financial governance and revenue at UJ.
Mazimpaka, who is now a postgraduate student, advocates for students. She said the call for free quality education remained, but for now she does “commend” initiatives such as the UJ future walk and missing middle fund.
“From the UJ side, it’s a very good initiative that the university has taken as the management to task itself to raising funds by these mechanisms. Of course there’s still a lot that needs to be done but as long as we have these initiatives, then we know to a certain extent that as students we’re safe,” Mazimpaka said. “But then again the students’ struggle will always be there.”
On Saturday, May 20, UJ will host its second “future walk” to raise money for the missing middle fund. The university held its first future walk in October 2015. In its first year, the walk generated in excess of R1 million from pledges, sponsorships and entrance fees.
For students like Kapu, the fund has improved her life. She said she has more time to focus on her studies now that she doesn’t have a financial burden.
“It covers everything a student could need,” she said.
