Before we opened Bulungula College (BC) in 2019, there was no high school in our area, leaving learners with few options to continue their education beyond Grade 9. The handful who were able to complete Matric had to study and live far from home. With the establishment of BC, however, young people in our community could, for the first time, pursue their education locally. In our community, completing Grade 12 is a significant achievement, and most of our learners are the first in their families to do so.
However, as we began graduating learners from BC, a new set of challenges emerged. Many aspired to pursue higher education, but as first-generation matriculants, they lacked access to the information, resources, and support networks needed to navigate the transition. Learners were managing course selection, university applications, NSFAS processes, and long-distance travel for registration, often with little or no guidance. Getting from Bulungula to the first day of class at a university proved to be a complicated and highly administrative journey. This highlighted the need for a formal, consistent support system. In response, we piloted Sakha iKamva in 2024, our higher education and career guidance programme at Bulungula College.
When we first started implementing the programme, we discovered that our learners generally had minimal career awareness. We would ask them what their “dream job” was, and the majority would answer only three professions: teacher, nurse, or police officer. While these are valuable and respected professions, the responses reflected the narrow range of career options visible within our community. The combination of our remote location, limited local economy, and high unemployment rate means learners have little exposure to career options.
So instead of jumping right into applications, we began introducing our learners to foundational career exploration activities. Learners participated in fun exercises, such as a “Jeopardy!”-style game, to discover unfamiliar professions. We then had them complete the GoStudy career questionnaire to identify interest areas and conducted guided research into aligned careers. From there, they explored suitable tertiary programmes and institutions offering relevant qualifications.
As learners began to identify their preferred courses and career paths, another critical barrier came up: subject choices and academic eligibility. Many were unaware that university programmes require specific subjects and minimum marks. For example, a learner hoping to pursue nursing who was taking Maths Literacy instead of Pure Mathematics would be ineligible. Others found their Grade 11 or mid-year Grade 12 marks (used for applications) fell below the programme requirements. These insights highlighted the need to intervene earlier in a learner’s academic journey.
So, this year, Sakha iKamva has expanded its scope to include learners in Grades 10 and 11. The programme now offers early and ongoing support in aligning subject selections with career goals, understanding university and TVET college requirements, and planning proactively to meet application timelines. Ideally, we aim to eventually offer orientation sessions for incoming Grade 9 learners to help set them up for success from the start.
We have also begun hosting career days to expose learners to a broader range of professions, training institutions, and entrepreneurial pathways.
To further streamline access to higher education, we will pilot a “Tertiary Application Drive” at our Tech Centre next week during the term break. This initiative will offer open support hours for learners and graduates to access the internet and receive one-on-one assistance with applications. If successful, we plan to run these sessions during each school holiday.
While Sakha iKamva is still in its early stages, it already serves as a critical final step in our organisation’s broader “pre-conception to career” strategy. At the Bulungula Incubator, we believe every young person deserves the opportunity to realise their full potential, with the support and tools to make that journey possible.