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Student Sponsorship Programme South Africa (SSP SA) is a non-profit trust based in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, South Africa that enables academically distinguished, economically disadvantaged students to excel at some of the top private and public high schools in the
Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
and
Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
provinces. The SSP process begins by recruiting exceptional students from underprivileged communities and placing those students into top private and public high schools of nearby districts. To complete the process and ensure a positive outcome, SSP provides extensive support services for the students and their parents throughout all the high school years.


History

SSP was founded in 1999 by
Teresa Clarke Teresa Hillary Clarke (born February 8, 1963), is a prominent American investment banker, entrepreneur, and expert on Africa. Her career has spanned a wide range, from being a managing director at Goldman Sachs to co-founding a scholarship and men ...
, Nyagaka Ongeri and Gerri Engelman. In 2000, SSP placed 25 students in three high schools in Johannesburg:
St Mary's School, Waverley , motto_translation = Honest and upright , established = , type = Private & Boarding , religion = Christianity , sister_school = St John's College, Johannesburg , locale = Suburban , district ...
, St. Stithians College, and King Edward VII School. Each of those 25 students was matched with a mentor for the full five years of high school. The programme performed exceptionally well, in that all 25 students completed the eighth grade. In the first classes of graduates, 94% of the SSP scholars graduated from high school, and 95% of those graduates went on to university, the majority following degrees in the areas of finance, engineering, advertising/marketing, law and medicine. SSP is working towards providing opportunities for all students to attend a top educational institution, and ultimately, to receive a university degree and enter the workforce. In 2007, most of SSP scholars achieved higher marks than their peers in their schools, as demonstrated by their scorecards. And many of them were elected to a number of leadership positions, including Head Boy/Girl, Deputy Head Boy/Girl, Prefect, Head of House, and sport's team captain. The huge success of the programme for the following years allowed SSP to secure for additional funding necessary to continue to accept more students. In 2009, there were almost 400 students in the programme, including 177 alumni. On 24 February 2011, SSP celebrated its 10th anniversary. The celebrations, including a gala dinner, focused on having placed over 610 students through the program, including 365 current scholars and 245 alumni, as well as the number of current partner schools and the excellent passing rate. More than 90% of SSP scholars will continue their studies at tertiary level. As of February 2011, SSP is a Partner Organization with Princeton in Africa. SSP also partners with Hotchkiss Summer School (sending 2 students every summer), Family Life Center, Young & Able, and Impact Young Lives Foundation.


Overview

Education in South Africa Education in South Africa is governed by two national departments, namely the Department of Basic Education (DBE), which is responsible for primary and secondary schools, and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), which is resp ...
still is the largest single beneficiary of the government public expenditure as it is a key figure to reducing poverty and accelerating long-term economic development and sustainability. In fact, South Africa has one of the highest rates of public investment in education in the world. The Government expenditure for education grew 14% a year for the past 4 years, accounting for R 104,4 billion ($14.31 billion US dollars) in 2009 and nearly R 165,0 billion ($22.73 billion US dollars) in 2010. Schooling is compulsory between the ages of seven and 15 years. All learners are guaranteed access to quality learning. There are two types of schools: independent (private) and public. By mid-2007, the South African public education system had 12,3 million learners, 387.000 educators and about 26.592 schools, including 400 special-needs schools and 1.098 registered private schools. Of all schools, 6.000 were secondary schools (grades eight to 12) and the rest were primary schools (grades one to seven). The department aims to have 800,000 pupils enrolled in Grade R by 2010. By February 2009, 1 732 Grade R sites had registered with the then Department of Education, catering for about 45 950 learners. In 2008, Grade 12 learners wrote the first
National Senior Certificate In South Africa, matriculation (or matric) is the final year of high school and the qualification received on graduating from high school, and the minimum university entrance requirements. The first formal examination was conducted in South Africa ...
(NSC) based on the new National Curriculum Statement (NCS). A total of 589,912 learners enrolled for the NSC examinations. The pass rate was 62.5%. In 2009, 68,129 candidates wrote the NSC examination, achieving a pass rate of 60.7%. A report by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...
(OECD) on education in South Africa has found that while the education system has achieved a number of positive results in the past 14 years, it is still in a process of transition, and is suffering from a lack of resources and infrastructure. Even with the efforts currently undertaken by the government to close the educational divide, huge differences still prevail. Years of unequal educational opportunities have led to a deficient public education system, especially in rural areas. Differences are notorious between poorer, rural provinces like
Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
and
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
and more affluent and thriving provinces such as
Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
and the Western Cape. Illiteracy rates currently stand just below 20% for people over 15 years old, roughly 9 million adults are not functionally literate, teachers in township schools are poorly trained and funded. While 65% of whites over 20 years old and 40% of Indians have a high school or higher degree, amongst coloured population the rate is 17% and for black population is a mere 14%. Other government efforts include targeting the most in need for proper education, with two specially designed programmes. One is fee-exempt schools, institutions that receive all their required funding from the state and so they do not have to charge such fees. This fee-free schools, targeting the poorest of the poor, have been carefully identified in the country's most poverty-stricken areas, and by 2007 they made up almost 40% of the schools. The other is the National Schools Nutrition Programme, which feeds daily about seven millions scholars, including all those attending primary schools in 13 rural and eight urban poverty pockets. The programme was extended in 2009 to 1,500 secondary schools around the country, feeding one million secondary scholars from grades 8th to 12th.


Admission process

SSP finances five years of high school education at one of its partner schools. They begin the recruiting process at public primary schools located in underprivileged districts across the Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces. Students who are currently in grade six participate in the recruitment process which includes an entrance exam as well as various rigorous interviews. The main criteria for acceptance into the programme includes academic excellence, financial need and leadership skills. The SSP selection process is purposely rigorous to prepare the students to face the academic challenge of changing their learning environment to a more complex and challenging one in the partner schools.


Partner schools

The partner schools are selected using the following criteria: * Graduation and University placement rates, * Overall academic excellence and opportunities for learning experiences; * Maintenance of acceptable matric pass, * Support system of the school, e.g. governing body, headmaster/head mistress; * Ability to send a critical mass of SSP scholars to the school per year; usually is a group of at least four new 8th graders every year. * Appointment of an SSP schools coordinator; * A holistic learning environment that stretches beyond academics, thus including sporting and cultural extracurricular activities. SSP has developed partnerships with over 20 top high schools in Johannesburg, East London and Grahamstown. Including the following: *
Kingsmead College Kingsmead College is a private girls' elementary and high school situated in Melrose, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. The school is located next to the Gautrain Rosebank Station. Kingsmead College caters for girls from Grade 000 to Grade 1 ...
* St. John's College * St. Mary's School * St. Stithians Boys' College * King Edward VII School * Redhill School *
St David's Marist Inanda St David's Marist is a private English medium Roman Catholic preparatory and high school for boys in Inanda, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The school was established in 1941 by the Marist Brothers. History The school's roots began ...
* American International School of Johannesburg * St. Stithians Girls' College * St. Martin's School * Brescia House School * Parktown High School for Girls *
Roedean School Roedean School is an independent day and boarding school founded in 1885 in Roedean Village on the outskirts of Brighton, East Sussex, England, and governed by Royal Charter. It is for girls aged 11 to 18. The campus is situated near the Sus ...
* McCauley House *
Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...
* SAHETI (South African Hellenic Educational and Technical Institute) * Jeppe High for Girls *
Pretoria High School for Girls Pretoria High School for Girls (Simply often known as PHSG), is a full-government, fee-charging, English-medium high school for girls located in Hatfield, Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is the sister school to Pretoria Boy ...
*
Pretoria Boys High School , motto_translation = "Through courage and labour" , location = , streetaddress = 251 Roper Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria, Brooklyn , region = , city = Pretoria , provi ...
*
St. Alban's College St. Alban's College is a private, boarding, English medium and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Lynnwood Glen in Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It was founded in 1963 by Anton Murray. Its history, influence, ...
*
Clarendon High School for Girls Clarendon High School for Girls is a public English medium high school for girls situated in the suburb of Selborne of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It was founded in 1903 as East London Girls' High School, The br ...
*
Hudson Park High School Hudson Park High School is a public English medium co-educational high school situated in the suburb of Vincent in East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, It is one of the top and most academic schools in East London and also on ...
*
Selborne College Selborne College is a semi-private English medium male-only high school situated in the suburb of Selborne (the suburb was named after the school) of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa; it is one of the few colleges in the ...
* St.Andrew's College * Diocesan School for Girls


Board of trustees

Teresa Clarke Teresa Hillary Clarke (born February 8, 1963), is a prominent American investment banker, entrepreneur, and expert on Africa. Her career has spanned a wide range, from being a managing director at Goldman Sachs to co-founding a scholarship and men ...
– chairman and CEO,
Africa.com Africa.com is an internet media company. Launched in 2010 by Teresa Clarke, the company has grown into a media company providing coverage on topics such financial, political and cultural news related to Africa. Using the online web portal about th ...
, and former managing director, Investment Banking Division
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
. Ms. Clarke also served on the Board of the Student Sponsorship Partnership in New York for several years and chaired the New Sponsorship Recruitment Committee. She currently is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a board member of Southern Africa Legal Services (Legal Resources Centre), and a board member of the Tony Elumelu Foundation in Nigeria, and a board member of the Opportunity Agenda in New York. Ms. Clarke holds a BA in Economics cum laude from
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, an MBA from
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
and a JD from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
. Nyagaka Ongeri – Managing Principal, ABSA Capital. managing director,
Barclays Capital Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...
. Former vice-president,
J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * ''Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Park ...
, Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, he worked on the Debt Capital Markets Desk of
Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
in New York for four years. Mr. Ongeri holds a BA in finance, summa cum laude, from
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
and an MBA from
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
. Ms. Tandiwe Lumka Njobe- Experience: Director, Standard Bank; Analyst,
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
; Senior Analyst, Abt Associates.Academic BA – Smith College, MBA – University of Massachusetts, Amherst Mr. Itumeleng Kgaboesele- Experience: Co-founder & CEO, Sphere Holdings Academic: BCom, Post-Grad Diploma in Accounting, University of Cape Town; Chartered Accountant (SA)


References


External links



Student Sponsorship Programme

South African Government Information]

Education in South Africa

Princeton in Africa {{Greater Johannesburg, edu Education in South Africa Education in Johannesburg Scholarships