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By Sihle Mlambo 
57m ago
Johannesburg – Wits University says it was caught off guard this week when one of its senior medical students, Mumtaaz Emeran, took to social media and financed a R471,000 student debt owed to the institution.
The student, originally from Bo Kaap in Cape Town, had made a passionate plea on social media, gathering South Africans to help her pay off her debt so that she could attend her graduation ceremony and receive her medical degree certificate. . She had been defrauded by a sponsor, with whom she had signed a contract to finance her studies from the fourth year.
Emeran had been funding his own studies for his first three years of medical school, working part-time for a sportswear brand and holding retail positions, until he landed a sponsor who was supposed to ditch his burden.
But the sponsor, whose name he declined to reveal, never paid. He realized earlier this year that he had a mountain of unpaid debt.
Emeran said his sponsor’s explanation was that the money was paid to Wits, but somehow it turned out that the money had gone elsewhere and never made it to the institution’s bank account.
Attempts were made throughout the year to resolve the ordeal, but nothing came out until the student’s desperate plea this week.
“I had a baby at the age of 16 and I wanted to give my son the best life possible, so I took a one-way ticket from Cape Town to Johannesburg, paid myself for medical school and even had to sit down. a year to make enough money to go back to school.
“And then I got this sponsor who was going to finance my studies, I was relieved to get the sponsor,” she said.
But in the end, the sponsor disappointed her very much.
“Now, the difficult thing for me was that I have come this far only for this problem to hinder my way forward, because I really want this so much for my family, for my son and for myself,” Emeran told IOL earlier this week . before your debt was settled.
On Thursday, the student, with the help of social media, paid her student bill of R471,000.
“The brands have just been launched and it is official, I passed, I am qualified. It’s official South Africa, we did it.
“So many amazing things have happened today, my son turned 12, South Africa helped pay my debt in 24 hours and I passed. God helped us today, ”he said on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIltn4HDm8S/
Wits University spokeswoman Shirona Patel said the university only learned of Emeran’s plight through social media and said it was “unfortunate” that the student had not alerted the faculty office about her earlier. difficult situation with your sponsor.
“If she had, the university would have tried to connect her with another sponsor or would have advised her on a low-interest loan scheme for health sciences students. In any case, once we found out, the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences called the student and met with her yesterday (Wednesday) to try to resolve her set of particular issues, “he said.
But Emeran said she was recently told by the university to pay off the debt, otherwise she would not be able to get her certificate or be part of any graduation ceremony.
She said that not obtaining her certificate would jeopardize her internship at a public hospital next year, but Wits denied this, saying that all students, whether they were in debt or not, had full access to their academic records that could be used to help them find a job.
Clarifying the college’s graduation policy, Patel said students regularly received statements notifying them of their fees and outstanding amounts.
“The university makes allowances for students. For example, students who owe R15,000 or less can graduate and pay their fees without interest once they start working. They also make payment plans with the college and sign debt acknowledgment forms.
“Students who owe fees still receive their transcripts and a letter from the university so they can reach out to potential employees, although they only receive their actual certificate once the fees are paid in full.
“It should be noted that about 95% of the students who are employed found work within six months of graduating from Wits.”
Patel said the university administered about $ 1 billion in financial aid, scholarships and scholarships, including the National Student Financial Aid Plan, each year. This represented 50% of the university’s funding model.
“If, as some people have suggested on social media, we canceled the R400,000 for this student, we would set a precedent and we would have to do it for all other students. This could amount to R300-R400m per year and would make the university unsustainable. It would also close the doors of learning for future generations, ”the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Emeran will begin his internship at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital next year.
“When it’s for you, it will be for you,” he said.
MESS
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