NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 119
DATE OF PUBLICATION: FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER 2009 [IQP No 20 -2009]
FIRST SESSION, FOURTH PARLIAMENT
Question 119 for written reply, National Council of Provinces, Mr R A Lees
(DA-KZN) to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
(1)
Whether her department makes any bursaries available for suitable school
leavers to study at agricultural colleges or universities; if not, why not; if
so, (a) how many bursaries are made available annually, (b)(i) what is the
value of each bursary and (ii) what does the cost cover, (c) what are the
requirements to qualify for such a bursary, (d) when does the application
period (i) open and (ii) close and (e) how many bursaries have been
awarded in each of the past five years;
(2)
Whether any measures are in place to ensure that candidates awarded
these bursaries find suitable employment in order to obtain practical
experience; if not, why not; if so,
(3)
Whether all such graduates over the past five years were placed in
suitable employment; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what
are the relevant details? CW195E
REPLY
1.
Yes. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries introduced the
External Bursary Scheme in 2004. The scheme makes provision for
allocation of bursaries to deserving students to follow a career in one of
the identified scarce skills in agriculture at the universities. Bursaries are
also allocated for students who wish to study a Diploma in Agriculture at
Colleges of Agriculture and on average ten (10) bursaries are awarded
annually in this regard.
(a)
On average since the inception of the scheme in 2004, 120 new
bursaries are made available annually to potential students to
further their studies in agriculture.
(b) (i) The value of each category of the bursary awards per year per
student is as follows:
 High School
: R15 000.
 BSc degree
: R60 000.
 BVSc degree
: R75 000.
 Postgraduate degree
: R40 000.
(ii)
The bursary award is comprehensive and covers the following:
 Registration.
 Tuition.
 Accommodation.
 Prescribed books.
 Meals.
 Monthly allowance
and
incidentals
(e.g.
notes,
travel for
excursions, etc).
(c) The requirements to qualify for the bursary award are as follows:
 The applicant must meet the entrance requirement set by various
universities for specific field of studies. For example for the 2010
bursary
awards
for
undergraduates,
requirements were set by universities:
the
following
entry
o BVSc: BSc (Veterinary Biology) degree.
o BSc Bioresource Engineering: Mathematics and Physical Science:
score of 6 (70 – 79%)
o Other BSc degrees: Mathematics and Physical Science: score of 5
(60 – 69%).
 The DAFF uses the “14 point system” as selection tool to select
deserving students to receive the bursary award. The “14 point system”
allocates scores to applicants based on race, gender, disability,
academic record and the financial situation.
 The National Bursary Committee comprising of the following members
is responsible for the final selection of the recipients of the DAFF
bursary award as outlined in the External Bursary Scheme policies and
Procedure 2006 document.
o
9 HRD Managers from provincial Departments of Agriculture.
o
One representative from ARC.
o
One representative from Land Bank.
o
The Director: Education, Training and Extension Services from the
DAFF (Chairperson).
(d) The application period open 1st May and closes 30 September annually.
(e) The table below summarises the total number of students who benefited
from the External Bursary Scheme since inception in 2004 to 2009
according to year of participation, fields of studies, gender as well as race.
The table indicates that 775 students benefited from the programme and
259 successfully completed their studies.
Table 1: The number of bursaries awarded from 2004 – 2009 according to year of participation, fields of studies,
race and gender.
5
38
80
73
63
0
775
259
African
Coloured
Indians
Whites
Total
26
4
18
14
62
31
0
12
0
43
30
7
0
2
39
16
10
0
0
26
35
1
3
0
39
20
1
0
0
21
16
0
0
1
17
3
0
0
0
3
23
2
0
2
27
3
0
0
2
5
Race
14
2
0
0
16
6
0
0
0
6
2
0
0
0
2
4
0
0
2
6
53
16
0
0
69
6
0
0
0
6
141
10
23
3
177
136
3
0
0
139
23
0
0
0
23
1
1
0
1
3
37
4
0
1
42
4
0
0
0
4
630
61
56
28
775
222
21
3
13
259
11
16
27
Gender
2
7
6
3
9
0
5 16
6
0
2
2
3
3
6
48
21
69
3
3
6
84
93
177
70
69
139
8
15
23
0
3
3
21
21
42
1
3
4
382
393
775
124
135
259
Male
Female
Total
23
39
62
25
18
43
18
21
39
17
9
26
16
23
39
10
11
21
7
10
17
2
1
3
Total Completed
0
2
1
0
1
0
4
Total Participated
0
13
9
5
5
10
42
PhD
0
1
0
1
1
0
3
Masters
0
4
2
2
7
8
23
M Tech
0
24
35
24
24
32
139
Honours
60
11
45
60
1
0
177
AMDP
0
0
0
0
6
0
6
Pilot Learners
7
4
10
11
10
27
69
Extended Programme
ND Veterinary Technology
6
0
0
0
0
0
6
Diploma in Agriculture
B Tech Agric Management
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
ND Food Technology
0
6
0
0
0
0
6
B Tech Food & Consumer
Science
0
0
0
0
7
9
16
B Tech Food Technology
5
0
0
0
0
0
5
BSc Pasture Science
5
6
6
2
2
6
27
BSc Biotechnology
0
0
3
0
0
0
3
BSc Food Science
0
0
1
6
10
0
17
BSc Agric Economics
0
4
3
3
6
5
21
B.Agric Viticulture
0
10
7
3
13
6
39
BSc Agric Viticulture
10
9
2
1
3
1
26
BSc Bioresource
Engineering
12
6
7
3
9
2
39
2004/2005
2005/2006
2006/2007
2007/2008
2008/2009
2009/2010
BVSc
4
8
9
8
8
6
43
127
124
147
135
119
123
Grand Total
18
16
7
6
6
9
62
Year
B Tech Engineering
Number of students who participated in the bursary scheme since inception
2. During July each year, profiles and CVs of completing bursary holders are
circulated to all directorates within the DAFF, Provincial Departments of
Agriculture, ARC, Commodity organisations and Agribusinesses for possible
employment. Some of the completing bursary holders who wish to further
their studies at post graduate programme are resisted with universities while
placed with the relevant research institution or industry for practical hands on
experience.
3. Yes. Majority of graduates who completed their studies over the past five
years have managed to secure employment except a few who graduated
from Agricultural Colleges. Efforts are been taken to link these graduate with
commercial farmers. As a measure to assist completing bursary holders to
secure employment after completion of their studies, the DAFF implement the
following:
 During July each year, profiles and CVs of completing bursary holders are
circulated to all directorates within the DAFF, Provincial Departments of
Agriculture, ARC, Commodity organisations and Agribusinesses for possible
employment.
 All the bursary holders who don’t secure employment immediately after
completion are appointed by the DAFF as interns for a period of 12 months
for practical hands on experience to enhance their chances of employability.