PORTFOLIO PROJECT ASSIGNMENT

ECAT121
TEAM 112 MOABI MNTUNGWA
TOPIC 2: HIGHLIGHT A CURRENT STUDENT PROBLEM/ CURRENT NWU
ACTION AND PROPOSE A SOLUTION- FORMAL LETTER.

STUDENT SURNAME & EMAIL

NUMBER NAMES
30349737 MOABI MOABI.OK@GMAIL.COM
OMPHILE
KEITUMETSE
31827187 MNTUNGWA MBALIMNTUNGWA95@GMAIL.COM
MBALI

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PART 1
INSUFFICIENT FUNDING IS A SUBSTANCIAL CHALLENGE AMONGST
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.
Insufficient funding as the most pressing challenge to most students.
Hereby a letter written by two students, both in our second year of study at the North
west University, namely Omphile Moabi and Mbali Mntungwa. We are writing this letter
to inform you about what we have noticed to be the biggest challenge amongst
students, which is lack of sufficient funding.

As students at the North West University, we have realized that insufficient funding is
one of the biggest drawbacks that students face. It has become evident that some
students are unable to secure themselves space at university because bursary funders
sometimes respond to student applications at a later stage. This therefore leads to
students being unable to pay for their registration fees on time and this has a negative
impact on the lives of students who are doing either distance or contact learning. The
alarmingly high tuition fees, accommodation fees( for students who come from different
provinces or even countries), book fees, transport fees and other expenses such as
food, can force students to end up take a huge loan with banks or with the school.
According to Nathan (2014:17) every time you borrow money you are only robbing your
future self. Borrowing money that you do not have today means that you are going to
disable your future self from spending money you would have had if you did not have it
back.

Many students accumulate less that R1600 a month, and a month. Most of the students
come from financially unbalanced backgrounds, in addition to that they need to depend
on their parents or guardians for financial support, to pay for their fees and/ or to
supplement what they get from the government bursary (NSFAS) ,to provide for
essential living expenses. Many of those who dropped out indicated that they worked
augment their meagre financial resources, no doubt adding to their stress levels and
distracting them from their studies ( Letseka & Maile, 2003:5) the economic position of
our country plays a very big role in the lives of the people of this country regarding
certain things like, stable jobs, quality education and free education for students that

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come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The financial issues lead to students being
unable to obtain their qualifications, because of the debts they have with the school and
this eventually means that they cannot look for employment that is in line with their
qualifications. This often leads to major depression and anxiety. Most of the time
students with debts feel it is important to find a part time job while studying to pay off
their debts, but this might affect their academic performance negative. Poverty is one of
the leading factors that hits students from disadvantaged backgrounds very hard when
they are at university. Poverty either situational or generational makes it very difficult for
the students to afford some of the essentials that facilitate learning in school, especially
food. The misconception that most people have is that these poor students are not
intellectual enough to achieve success and this is not the case. Most of them, if
provided with the basic needs or sufficient funding can be able to progress to high order
skills (Thompson).

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PART 3: THE SOLUTION

Struggling with finances can have a huge impact on the life of a student. As mentioned
previously, it affects everything, from their performance academically, to the personal
aspects of their lives such as their diet plans or sleeping patterns. Precedingly, 52% of
students also said that this puts their mental health in jeopardy, therefore affecting their
day to day activities. According to Nelson Mandela (2003:14) education is the most
powerful weapon which we can use to change the world, therefore everyone has the
equal right to good, quality education.

We are aware that this is a complex issue that sometimes the institution may not be
able to attend to all student queries and needs at the same time. However, they can
always show through their actions that they are taking necessary steps to improve
access to higher learning for all students. This could include supporting students that
are from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing them with equal opportunity to further
their studies, regardless of their financial situations form the point of admission, till
completion (Jackson, 2002:556). As previously stated, one of the reasons why students
are unable to get into university is because bursary funders do not respond to
applications on time, the institution can therefore ensure that they place students from
disadvantaged backgrounds as their first priority when issuing funding. Another helpful
step would be for the university to host programs whereby, they educate students on
the importance of managing money and ways in which they can avoid taking huge loans
and being in debts while studying.

Universities need to always value the students’ academic performance and

accomplishments first over the amount of money they owe, this means that students
who have outstanding debts could be allowed to graduate and receive their
qualification, in this way they will be able to seek for employment and pay off their
outstanding debts. Another concerning issue is, as of October 2015- October 2016,
students went out in large numbers and started the “fees must fall” movement and
protest, yet till date. November 2020, tuition fees, accommodation and transport, and
study material cost are still alarmingly high. Therefore, one of the other steps that
universities can take towards solving this problem, is for them to cooperate with

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students regarding their complaints and do follow up by implementing the necessary
changes. In this case the necessary initiative would be to lower the cost of tuition and
study material costs.

Registration fees should be affordable for all students, from all backgrounds. The final
important initiative the institution can take, is to consider recruiting their Post Graduate
students first, before employing people from the outside. They can also try to create job
opportunities like hire junior lectures or even lecture assistants within the university and
prioritize their own students, this ensures that they secure themselves employment and
are at least able to free themselves from financial stress and pressure.

We know that the university wants to produce future leaders and a good reputation for
themselves and the community, hope you find our letter and get back to us as soon as
you get time

Thank you.

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REFERENCES

 Bushi, R & Aozkensosy, J. 2020. What to do if you run out of money at university.
https://www.saveastudent.org/money/student_budgeting/7-ways-to-cope-with-a-
cash-crisis.html. date of access: 11 Sept.2020.
 Jackson, G.A, 2002. Financial aid and student enrolment. The journal of higher
education, 49(6), pp.548-574.
 Letseka, M. & Maile, S. 2008. High university dropout rates: a threat to South
Africa’s future.Pp.5. https://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/1088dropout
%20rates.pdf.date of access: Mar.2008.
 Mooley, P. & Singh, R.J. 2015.Adressing student dropout rates at South African
universities. Edition no.17;91-115
 Muray, M.2014.Factors affecting graduation and student dropout rates at
university. https://dx.doi.org/10,1590/sajs. Date of access:11 Mar 2014.
 Morris, N.W.2002.Your 33-day money action plan. Available from Amazon.com
 Pinto, M.B. and Mansfield, P.M. 2006. Financially at-risk college students. An
exploratory investigation of student loan debt and prioritization of debt
repayment. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 36(2), p.2.
 Sive.L. 2020. 8 Nelson Mandela quotes that inspire me every day.
https://www.lionworldtravel.com/news/8-Nelson-Mandela-quotes. Date of access:
18 Jul.2020
 Thompson. J.G. 2012. What you can do for students living in poverty.
https://teaching.monster.com/counselors/articles/8164-what-you-can-do-for-
students-living-in-poverty.

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THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF
INSUFFICIENT FUNDING FACED BY
STUDENTS.
Having to adjust to an independent life is not easy

high tution
fees

expenses
that leads
accomodation
students to
huge debts

transport

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And expenses such as food, clothes
and study material are very
expensive.

Many students accumulate

debt before they realize
what is happening and it
may be difficult to start
digging their way out of
debt after they graduate.

70% of the families of the higher education

dropouts surveyed were in the category “low
economic status”. Black (African) families were
particularly poor, with some parents and guardians
earning less than R1 600 a month.

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 REASONS RELATED TO STUDENTS
DROPPING
1% OUT
13% FINANCIAL
PRESSURE
4%
39% ACADEMIC
5% DISQUALIFICATION
FAMILY RELATED
9% REASONS
HEALTH REASONS
DISTANCE FROM
29% HOME
POOR SOCIAL LIFE
MENTAL/EMOTIONA
L ISSUES

STATICTICS HAVE COME TO SHOW THAT AT

LEAST 38% OF STUDENTS WHO DROP OUT HAVE DROPPED OUT DUE TOO
FINANCIAL CIRUMSTANCES

REFERENCES
Anon.2020. South Africa’s education statistics.
https://www.southafricanmi.com/education-statistics.html date of access: 27 Jul. 2020.
Cilluffo.A. 2019. 5 facts about student loans.12(1), e1789. https://pewrsr.ch/2YIgOmt
Educationdata.org. College drop out rates https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A
%2F%2Feducationdata.org%2Fcollege-dropout-rates. Date of access. 23 July 2017

Staff writer. 2019. South Africa’s university pass rate shocker.

https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/353575/south-africas-university-pass-rate-
shocker/ date of access: 13 Nov. 2020.

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