SCIENCE PROGRAMMES ATTEMPT TO MEET QUOTAS

Walter Sisulu University recently formed  a partnership with a local organisation, Axium Education, to assist struggling science programmes to meet their student enrolment quotas.

Axium Education was founded in the year 2010 with the purpose of assisting schools and learners in the different phases of schooling by providing extracurricular academic activities as well as teacher support and training.

The organisation is based in Amajingqi near Willowvale with another one located in Zithulele near Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape.

Undergraduate Programme Coordinator in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr Mzukisi Kolosa, said, “We found out about this organisation when we were doing an intake for the 2021 academic year.  We realised when we were giving feedback to students that there was a dominating email address that the students used and we called them to find out who they are.”

The two parties held their first meeting in the beginning of July 2021 in parallel with the opening of applications for the 2022 academic year to discuss how they can assist the institution in meeting their quotas.

Career officer at Axium Education, Sive Mda, said, “ Our careers programme operates across both sites running and managing careers exposure for grades 10 to 12 while our main work is in assisting learners in their applications to universities and colleges. 

Axium Education exposes learners to different career paths and assists them to understand tertiary terms, understanding of the prospectus, different careers available and what factors to consider when choosing a study choice.

“When we were struggling to meet our quotas with Public Health and Medical Orthotics and Prosthetics we contacted the organisation to assist us in getting students to fill in the gaps and they did,” elaborated Kolosa.

In the meeting that was held, the Faculty of Natural Sciences was invited to share their struggles with meeting quotas so that the organisation can assist in the recently opened applications.

“The importance of building a relationship with this prestigious institution is that, as an organization, we will be able to bridge the gap between the institution and prospective rural students. Our learners have no idea of how they go about applying to tertiary institutions, that is where we come in as Axium Careers Team,” added Mda.

Mda further added that as an organisation that services rural areas they believe that WSU is full of opportunities that  learners can benefit from. So working closely with WSU in changing lives in rural communities will be a great achievement in their organisation.

- Anita Roji