It costs more than R82 000 a year for talented kids to study at the National School of the Arts (school fees and boarding school) and roughly half of the kids there cannot afford that and don't pay school fees, Brenda Sakellarides told the club at the meeting this week.
Brenda told the club that the school needs to find R4.9 million by the end of the year just to cover running costs. If the money can't be found, the school will have to cut back on teachers, which would potentially double the size of classes with the resulting inevitable drop in teaching standards.
Brenda, herself a star of stage and screen, is heavily involved with the NSA and said that the school represents a slice of young South Africa's creative youth after the doors were opened to everybody in 1994.
"The school is a magnet for creative people," she said, adding that although it specialises in the arts, it remains just one of the subjects in a full academic programme.
Pupils have to pass a rigorous audition to get in, which includes a literacy and numeracy test. The auditions include a portfolio of work for those specialising in art, a classical ballet audition for dance, an acting audition for future stars of the stage and a recital by music students.
"It takes a brave child to decide at the age of 12 to go there."
The NSA id a specialisation school which falls under the Gauteng Department of Education and receives (inadequate) public funding.
The R3 million it gets is barely enough to cover the costs of electricity.
"We have hungry children at the school; they're the kind of brilliant children who can shift perceptions, but many of them are hungry.
"We produce children who are sensitive and empathetic and understand the value of art in civilisation."
She ended off her talk by pointing out that there is much that Rotary can do to help, like fixing up and refurbishing music practice rooms, adding that there is a Steinway grand piano worth R1.9 million that needs to be fixed and tuned, along with more than 35 other pianos.
Lawrence Ruele told the meeting about the upcoming We Love Alexandra community makeover project in the form of a South Africa Day Business Development and Investment Summit on 11 May (next Wednesday) at the Mea Culpa event venue, 35 11th Road in Kew.
Lawrence handed out invitation folders at the club but if you couldn't make the meeting and are interested in going, RSVP to jobeka@welovealex.org.za or contact Lawrence. He said the aim is to upgrade Alex block by block and street by street with the help of residents and donors, of course.
If you haven't done so already, read the latest edition of Rotary Africa for an article with photographs on our tree side induction ceremony at Zoo Lake on Rotary International's official birthday earlier this year.
If you don't receive a monthly link to Rotary Africa, the official Rotary magazine for Southern Africa, let me know, as the club pays for everybody to receive it.
Next week: The speaker next week is Luyanda Hlatshwayo of the African Reclaimers Organisation. There will also be feedback on the board meeting this week.
A Thought for the Week: Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory. - Gustave Flaubert (1821 - 1880)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.