The Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme is a multi-year bursary programme of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) that promotes teaching in public schools. Bursaries are available to enable eligible students to complete a full teaching qualification in an area of national priority. Recipients of the bursary will be required to teach at a school or provincial education department for the same number of years that they receive the bursary.
Programmes to be funded in 2022
Two types of qualifications can be funded as shown below. The qualification must include subjects which will allow the student to specialise as a teacher in at least two priority subject areas (see next section below).
1. Undergraduate studies
4-year Bachelor of Education degree (BEd), specialising in one of the following: Foundation Phase (Grade R – 3), Intermediate Phase (Grade 4 – 6) and Senior and Further Education and Training Teaching (Grade 7-12).
2. Graduate studies
One-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for graduates whose degrees reflect two priority subjects where one module/course was successfully completed or studied at the third-year level while the second priority subject was successfully completed or studied at the second-year level.
N.B. Only the PGCE for Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Teaching (SP-FET) (Grade 7-12) will be funded through the Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme.
What are the requirements and selection criteria?
Selection criteria include the following:
- The bursary is only awarded to South African citizens with a valid South African ID number;
- The applicant should demonstrate good academic ability;
- Applicants should be 30 years and below to qualify for the Funza Lushaka Bursary
- Allocation of Funza Lushaka bursaries to Higher Education Institution employees, their spouse and their dependents/children is not permissible.
- The Funza Lushaka bursary does not fund extended programmes.
- The applicant must be accepted into an approved B.Ed. degree or PGCE programme to specialise in two or more of the priority subject areas.
- The applicant should demonstrate good academic ability.
- The applicant must show commitment to a teaching career, which includes: interest in working with young people; enthusiasm for a professional career in teaching; readiness to face and surmount difficult challenges with integrity.
- The applicant must be committed to teach in any school to which a student may be placed by a Provincial Education Department (PED).
Students must meet the minimum academic criteria for the award of the bursary. In 2022, the minimum academic criteria are:
- For 1st time entrants to university:
- An exemption, endorsement, or ‘admission to bachelor degree studies’ pass at
- matric/Grade 12 level.
- At least a level 4 pass at matric level in the two subjects which the applicant will specialise to teach.
- For students who wish to specialise in the Foundation Phase, a Level 2 pass in Mathematics or Level 4 pass in Mathematical Literacy at Grade 12 level is required. In addition, at least a level 4 pass in the Home Language is required.
- For students who wish to specialise in the Intermediate Phase, a Level 2 pass in Mathematics or Level 4 pass in Mathematical Literacy at Grade 12 level is required. In addition, at least a level 4 pass in the Home Language is required.
- Students who wish to specialise in the teaching of Technology subjects, including CAT, and who do not have these subjects at matric level, must have at least a level 4 pass in Mathematics or Technical Mathematics.
- If the institution’s admission requirements are higher than the bursary requirement and vice versa then the higher requirement will apply.
- For new applicants already at university
- The student must have:
- The student must have passed all of the modules studied in the year prior to the bursary application at the Higher Education Institution.
- At least a 55% average across all the modules studied in the applicant’s last year of study at a Higher Education Institution. 9.2.3 The student must have at least 66.5% average in modules studied in the applicant’s last year of study at university which relate directly to the priority subject area of teaching specialisation.
- These are minimum criteria. The Funza Lushaka bursary is a prestigious bursary that must be awarded firstly on the basis of academic ability. The criteria applied at particular institutions may be higher than those suggested here, but cannot be lower.
- For new applicants enrolling for PGCE
- The student must have successfully completed a recognized qualification that qualifies him/her to be admitted for a PGCE.
- Only the PGCE for Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Teaching (SP-FET) (Grade 7-12) will be funded through the Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme.
- To be considered for the PGCE in Senior Phase and Further Education and Training teaching the student must have two priority subjects where one module/course was successfully completed or studied at third year level while the second priority subject was successfully completed or studied at second year level.
- The student must have sufficient modules in the identified priority subjects to qualify to teach it as a subject at school.
How to apply for the Funza Lushaka 2022 Bursaries?
To apply for the 2022 Funza Lushaka Bursaries CLICK HERE or visit www.eservice.gov.za, and then follow the instructions in the picture below:
Closing date: 1 February 2022
Applicants must note that these are minimum criteria. Meeting these criteria does not mean automatic acceptance for the bursary. There are a limited number of bursaries available, and the best students will be selected for the bursary.
- The bursary is awarded for one academic year at a time. It is not automatically re-awarded. A re-award will depend on academic performance of the previous year’s results.
- There is no automatic promise of financial support for a fifth (5th) year of study, i.e. beyond the 4th year of study. On evidence of good academic performance, and pending the availability of funds, the bursary may be re-awarded.
- Recipients of bursaries will be required to teach one year for every year for which they have received the bursary.
- What the bursary covers: Funza Lushaka bursaries cover most of the recipient’s essential expenses. Expenses covered include tuition fees, accommodation including meals, books and learning materials, teaching practice and if possible a small allowance for monthly living expenses. The allocation to any individual student is capped at a specific value.
- Where the university charges more than the capped value the bursars will have to top up from their own funds. Universities have different cost structures, so the total value of a bursary differs from institution to institution.
Repayment
- Recipients of these bursaries will be required to teach at a public school for the same number of years that they received the bursary. No repayment of the bursary is therefore required.
- Instances where the bursary conditions are not adhered to may require repayment of the bursary. The amount that is repayable is the full amount of the bursary received under the programme, less one year’s funding for every year spent teaching at a public school.
- Interest will be charged at the rate determined by NSFAS.
- If you are awarded or re-awarded the bursary, you will be expected to have an e-mail address and a contactable cell phone number which will not be changed for the duration of the studies for communication purposes with the funder and DBE officials.
- These conditions are all contained in the bursary contract which all applicants must sign. When applicants sign the bursary contract, they are legally agreeing to the conditions described in the contract. The applicants must keep a copy of the signed contract .
Processes for applying for the bursary
- Applications must only be made once students have been allocated a valid student number and have been accepted/provisionally accepted at their university of choice.
- All applications must be made online at www.funzalushaka.doe.gov.za. Take note of the closing date. No applications will be entertained after the closing date. Students must apply online and submit supporting documentation to the university’s Funza Lushaka office.
- Please ensure that all information that you capture is accurate, and that priority subject areas that you capture are the ones you will specialise in. The academic year of study refers to the level you are studying e.g. B Ed 1 = 1st year, B Ed 3 = 3rd year.
- Please note that you have access to your on-line bursary application to “Update personal details” or make changes to your application before applications close.
- Students who change institutions after submitting their bursary application forms will not be considered for selection.
- Having applied for the bursary is not a guarantee that a student will receive it.
Communications from students about the bursary
- All enquiries about the bursary must be directed to the Funza Lushaka academic and administrative co-ordinators at your university. They will be best placed to respond to any issues. Students should not communicate directly with NSFAS (the financial managers of the scheme) or with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) or the Department of Higher Education and Training. Students may not come in person to the DBE, but should phone and enquire at 012 357 3000 or email us at inquiries.funzalushaka@dbe.gov.za