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A UNIVERSITY in the heart of Johannesburg's CBD that attracts students
from around the country and costs students only R350 per year, compared
to R15 000 per year in a conventional university?
Community and Individual Development Association
Sound impossible? Well, people at the Community and Individual
Development Association (CIDA) like to make the impossible possible,
says Nikki Behr, marketing and fund-raising executive at the
university.
CIDA is a university in its second year that recruits students
from disadvantaged communities nationwide, brings them to Johannesburg,
charges them R350 in their first year of study for tuition and books
(R1 200 for each subsequent year), finds them accommodation in the city
and teaches them much more than what they need to get a degree.
Students are also expected to participate in the daily running of the
university.
"We have just received accreditation from the national Department of Education and operate as a private university," says Behr.
"Last year we wrote to school principals around the country, and
said that we were interested in learners who, despite severe
disadvantages, had done well academically and who had found time to
make a contribution to their communities in some way, in other words, a
well-rounded learner with the right values," adds Behr.
The result was 10 000 applications for 2001. CIDA took 1 050
students. At the moment it offers one four-year degree - a Bachelor of
Business Education.
So how does CIDA make it work?
CIDA University in Commissioner Street
With the very generous help of a number of corporates in the city.
Investec Bank has donated their eight-storey office building in
Commissioner Street, and they pick up the electricity, water, security
and lift repair costs. Lecturing staff are volunteers from the private
sector: Investment Solutions sends one of their team members to give
classes on investment, PricewaterhouseCoopers does the same for
accounting classes, and Investec supplies similar experts in banking.
When those lecturers come in for a class, all 1 050 students
attend that session. With structural changes to several floors of the
building, the bulk of the students are housed in a lecture hall, but
down the sides of the room are smaller groups of 20-30 students
watching the lecture on a monitor, with a facilitator helping out with
questions and the finer points of the subject.
The facilitators are university graduates, who are either paid
or working as volunteers. "Facilitators also act as counsellors, giving
advice and talking through problems with students," adds Behr.
Costs are also saved in day-to-day maintenance and upkeep of
the building. Students are actively involved in the running of the
university. Committees have been formed and they delegate chores to
groups of students, and everyone has a turn. The students are in charge
of the cleaning of the building, electrical problems that arise,
maintaining the indoor garden (they are growing vegetables in the
rooftop garden), and repairing the computers. This is a component of
their degree for which they are assessed.
Students attending lectures use monitors in the large lecture halls
"The idea is that the students own the campus. We want to
inculcate a sense of pride. There are no handouts. We expect the
students to dress according to business code, although we do help them
with clothing donations."
And the costs of books, computers, desks, blackboards? "All are
donated by corporates, who also give cash donations. We also have
permission to print books which helps with reducing costs," says Behr.
The only real cost is the executive and administrative staff, made up of around 30 people, in addition to some 30 facilitators.
So who is responsible for this innovative model? CIDA's CEO is
Taddy Blecher, who practised as a actuary for six years, then spent
four years as a management consultant before deciding in 1995 that he
"wanted to do more to help the country. I spent three years working in
the townships, helping improve standards in schools."
But this gave rise to further problems. By 1998 hundreds of
students approached him saying they didn't know what to do after
completing matric - they couldn't afford university and there were no
jobs available.
This gave rise to CIDA. In consultation with educational institutions
across the country and experts in business, Blecher and his board
established CIDA in 2000 with 350 students, with slightly more female
students than male students.
"It is a very strong strategic model, with cutting edge qualities,
using high tech and very relevant to today's student," says Blecher.
What gives him particular satisfaction in what has been achieved? "The
whole thing gives me satisfaction - working with students, they have
great values, everybody is giving and not just taking. It really can be
done although it seems impossible."
"Sponsors include FNB, African Bank, Pure Gas,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Monitor Company and Corp Capital Bank," says
Blecher. Books in the library have been donated by a company in the US.
The idea is to replicate the model elsewhere in the country and
in southern Africa. "We want the students to grow it," says Behr.
The students are accommodated in three residences: a block of
flats in Yeoville and another in the CBD, and the now defunct Rand
International Hotel in the city. "Four students share a room and they
save money by doing their own cleaning. They pay for their own
accommodation and they catch a bus to CIDA," explains Behr.
The course is broken up into six components:
- knowledge acquisition - basic business knowledge, statistics, accountancy, etc
- skills development - teaching the fundamentals of getting a driver's licence, how to pay tax, how to get life insurance, etc
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action skills - running the campus, the costs involved and getting work
experience (students are encouraged to go back to their communities and
teach)
- values instilment - instilling dignity and pride, and
ubuntu (those with part-time jobs pay into a fund to help others with
food and transport costs)
- building the individual - through counselling, the student's confidence and well-being is boosted
- sports and recreation - students are offered 40-50 activities, from dancing, debating, cycling to cricket, cooking and choir
"I came across a group of students practising cricket in one of the
rooms. They had no bat, no ball, but were painstakingly demonstrating
the correct way to hold the bat," adds Behr with enthusiasm.
Msizi Mnyandu is a first-year student from KwaZulu-Natal who is in
charge of the gardens in the building. He says: "I feel involved here,
we do things for ourselves which is good for young people. I don't like
the city - there are muggers and pickpockets - but the environment here
is the best."
But not all the students feel the same. Portia Makola from the
Northern Province, is in her first year and says: "I don't like the
cleaning but I do it because it is compulsory," looking over as a pile
of brooms are put down next to a group of students. "I like the way the
teaching is done, in four-week blocks, which we then write off with
weekly tests. They do care about people here." Makola has four brothers
and three sisters and sometimes does not get her monthly payment from
home.
"We have a system of sponsored meal tickets for students. Or
they can get a meal for R3.50. We do offer student loans or help them
arrange loans through the banks," says Behr.
The university has systems in place to help students from rural
areas adjust to a very different environment. "Each student has a
buddie, and three buddie pairs make up a syndicate, which works
together. We also split men and women, we find that women perform
better under those conditions."
"CIDA has a holistic approach - we've built a quiet time into
the day's routine: from 3.10pm to 3.30pm each day students have 20
minutes of reflective time."
There is a dedicated, friendly atmosphere in the building -
there is no litter in communal areas and the cafeteria has chairs
neatly pushed in under the tables.
The last 18 months have obviously been hard work, which according to
Behr, has certainly been worth it as she recounts an anecdote from the
first year. "Taddy had no computers and wondered how he was going to
teach a computer course. He photocopied dozens of keyboards and took
them into the lecture. He taught the students to touch type and by the
time they got their computers, they were already typing 30wpm."
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