Tata Africa has awarded 34 more post-graduate scholarships to two South African universities as it continues its Tata Africa Prestigious Scholarships project to support advanced study on the continent by giving back to the communities it operates in.
The latest beneficiaries were 21 students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban and 13 at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth.
Other universities that have benefited are the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and elsewhere in Africa the University of Accra in Ghana and the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
Initiated at the end of 2006, the Tata Africa Scholarships have provided support worth more than R10 million to over 200 deserving but financially constrained students for postgraduate studies across a wide range of specialities.
"In 40 years, Africa will have more working age people than any other continent, but not all will necessarily be employed. A failure to invest in education could cause massive problems.
"Promotion of basic education and skills training is essential to reduce unemployment rates," Tata Africa Holdings Managing Director Raman Dhawan said at the Nelson Mandela University handover ceremony.
"We are therefore very proud to be giving our contribution to knowledge expansion. Investing in the education of the youth of South Africa is a key focus for us," Dhawan said, calling on recipients to play their role in the development of their communities and the continent.
