CIDA Citichat 15 November 2002

CITICHAT 45/2002 - 15 November 2002


One answer to last week’s question! The CIDA City Campus.

One of the institutions that has found the CBD an ideal venue for its operations and which is all about equipping youngsters from historically disadvantaged backgrounds and economically deprived communities so that they can enter the mainstream of the country’s economy is CIDA City Campus. I first wrote about how impressed I was with the philosophy of CIDA City Campus in Citichat some years ago just after it had opened its doors. Although this is its third year of operation, today week ago was its official inauguration and what a joyful occasion it turned out to be.

CIDA (Community and Individual Development Association) City Campus had its beginnings in the townships in the mid-nineties when the current directors ran projects in township schools to upgrade the level of education. They had a belief, now reinforced with the successes achieved over these last three years, that inside every student is a potential which, when unlocked, contributes to the full development of the person and thus to the social and economic development of the community and ultimately of the country. They took the rural saying “It takes a village to raise a child” and inverted it to create one of their slogans; “It takes a child to raise a village”. Their work at that time resulted in a dramatic increase in pass rates and this created the impetus for starting an African tertiary education institution. The problem they were confronting was that high school students would pass their final year – with a great deal of effort often under impossible conditions – but had no prospects to further their education and little possibility of finding employment.

In sub-Saharan Africa only 3% of individuals (6% in South Africa) over the age of 20 have a post-school educational qualification. World Bank research reflects an 89% co-relation between the levels of tertiary education in a nation and economic indicators such as GDP per capita or labour productivity per capita.

But the cost of tertiary education is extremely high. In South Africa the average cost to the country to educate a university student is between R35 000 and R 40 000 per year and averages at over R100 000 per degree. AND, only 15% of students currently graduate with their degree or diploma. The true cost of producing a graduate can therefore be interpolated at between R700 000 and R1.3 million. How does one provide high quality education at the lowest possible cost?

Taddy Blecher, CIDA’s visionary CEO, is a young actuary who worked for a number of years for international management consulting firm Monitor Company. Together they established a think tank to conceptualise a workable higher education model which would encourage human, economic and social development at very low cost. The outcome was CIDA City Campus.

The first CIDA Campus is located at 55 Fox Street in the previous head office building of Investec who has provided the building for CIDA’s use. The building houses the current 1600 students every one of which is on a tuition scholarship. CIDA’s cost structure, a tenth of that of the country’s formal universities, is R2 500-00 per year. The student pays R350-00 in year one and R100-00 per month in years 2, 3 and 4. The balance is in scholarships provided by the private sector currently representing R64 million in scholarships. A further 1 000 students will be housed in a building donated by FNB from 2003 and the scholarships which will be made available for these students amounts to a further R40 million provided by corporate South Africa.

CIDA provides a fully accredited, practical four year Bachelor of Business Administration qualification that emphasises entrepreneurship, business science and technology. Students can specialise in Accountancy, Information Technology, Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Management and Entrepreneurship. A venture capital fund is being established to provide students with the means to start their own businesses.

CIDA differs in many ways from the typical South African formal tertiary education institutions – other than in its quality of teaching which is outstanding! Working with historically disadvantaged students demands a great deal more in terms of time, tuition and effort. So the approach adopted is based on a seven to nine hour day (compared to the standard 3 to 4) and between 40 and 44 weeks per year (compared to the standard 34 to 39) and covers four years instead of three. In addition they have implemented about 280 innovations to reduce cost including the use of multimedia technology and the students help to run the campus and administration offices which provides valuable hands-on experience.

During 2001 CIDA students in turn trained 300 000 youth about AIDS and money management in communities across the country, that figure has now increased to one million youth and unemployed. The target is to reach two million a year with courses that include starting and running a small business.

Already in its short life CIDA has received many accolades, the organisation for instance recently won the grand prix award in the “Age of Innovation competition 2002” for the most innovative organisation in South Africa, was mentioned by the President in a speech in Parliament and Taddy Blecher was recently honoured with a prestigious “Global Leader for tomorrow Award”, held by only 100 people in the world.

Over the next five years the intention is to have between 5000 and 9000 students in the Johannesburg city centre.

I mentioned earlier that the inauguration was a joyful occasion and I really meant that. The Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal, who did the honours, commented that he had never seen so many, “captains, kings and queens of industry” I would have added that for many it was their first visit to the CBD for years! But the joyfulness didn’t come from the dour donors but from the students themselves exuding a pride in their institution and a-belief and confidence in themselves that one seldom experiences on this great continent. The CIDA City Campus choir is extraordinary, I have had the privilege of hearing them on a number of occasions and they are truly something else, their CD to be released soon will be well worth buying.
Last week I said “We need a plan, a BIG and BOLD plan!” CIDA City Campus is one - only it is no longer a plan but a reality.

Regards, neil