East Cape Midlands College (EMC) students celebrated the fruits of their labours at their recent graduation ceremony at the Grahamstown City Hall.
East Cape Midlands College (EMC) students celebrated the fruits of their labours at their recent graduation ceremony at the Grahamstown City Hall.
The audience was welcomed by the EMC Grahamstown Campus manager Nomfusi Ntsho and the programme was directed by Andile Magadza. Ntsho thanked the learners for attending the ceremony; a number of graduates were not present at the ceremony.
Chief education specialist the Education Department, Bongani Stamper, was the guest speaker. He said: “To learners, well done for your achievement. The nation will benefit from your success."
He accused the government of not supporting higher education institutions such as universities and colleges. “I have visited three municipalities, including Makana, with the purpose of understanding their relationship with our institutions, and found that there are no programmes in place for our learners at all," he said.
He encouraged the government and higher education institutions to "locate each other" and challenged municipalities to better publicise the skills they need so that learners could battle less to find meaningful employment after graduating.
The ceremony saw about 150 learners obtain certificates and diplomas in various disciplines. After the ceremony parents were invited for a lunch at the college. Xolisa Ntsele, who obtained a certificate in Information Technology, said: “I will continue with my studies next year doing my Information Technology and I wish to study at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University thereafter.”
Office Administration graduate Nomawethu Gongqa said that she is also continuing with her studies at the college. "I want to obtain level four so that I can get better job – we don't have jobs in Grahamstown,” Gongqa said.
