university of the people south africa 2024-2025

university of the people south africa 2024-2025

7 January 2014, South Africa – With the release of the 2013 National Senior Certificate examination results, many people are learning that they may not be able to attend university in South Africa in 2014. The University of the People gives thousands of dissatisfied South African high school graduates new hope by allowing qualified individuals who lack the required admission points or financial means to obtain a quality higher education tuition-free.

University of the People (UoPeople; www.UoPeople.org) is a non-profit, tuition-free online academic institution dedicated to increasing global access to higher education. It is intended to provide qualified high school graduates with access to university studies regardless of financial, geographic, societal, or personal constraints.

The University announced a drive last year to expand its footprint and reach for African students. To that end, Microsoft recently announced the availability of 1000 UoPeople scholarships for African students. Many South African students will now be able to pursue higher education as a result of this. Shai Reshef, the University’s President, and Founder, recently visited South Africa to unveil the groundbreaking program and to seek additional partners to create additional scholarship opportunities for South African students. President Reshef will return to South Africa in March to continue his search. University of the People aims to ensure that qualified students who have been turned down by traditional South African universities can obtain a high-quality education.

• “We all know that many would-be students turned away from Universities are not rejected due to their qualifications, but rather due to lack of available seats in Universities. We cannot allow such limitations to bar individuals from access to quality higher education. In this day and age, thanks to the rapid flow of information enabled by the internet, quality education can and must be the right for all, not a privilege for a few”, says President Reshef.

UoPeople, which was founded in 2009, has partnered with several prestigious supporters, including New York University, to accept students. Furthermore, the University collaborates with Microsoft on scholarships and access to its certificate programs, mentoring, internships, and employment opportunities, as well as Hewlett-Packard on general support, scholarships for women, and internships.

The organization has received widespread support from leading academics, including Oxford Vice-Chancellor Sir Colin Lucas, Rector Emeritus of the Academy of Paris, Michèle Gendreau-Massaloux, and UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, among others, on its President’s Council, which is chaired by New York University President John Sexton. The Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Hewlett Foundation, and companies such as HP, Google, Microsoft, Western Union, and Estee Lauder, among others, support UoPeople. UoPeople has received nearly 1.2 million Facebook likes and widespread media coverage around the world.