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Top Karas learners go to school on Governor and mine funds

Satish Kumar (General Manager of Skorpion Zinc), Brandon Cloete (bursary recipient), Hon. Bernardus Swaartbooi (Governor of the Karas Region) and Fousy Jaar (bursary recipient).

Satish Kumar (General Manager of Skorpion Zinc), Brandon Cloete (bursary recipient), Hon. Bernardus Swaartbooi (Governor of the Karas Region) and Fousy Jaar (bursary recipient).

Skorpion Zinc through the Karas Governor’s Bursary Fund, for the second year running, awarded two bursaries to two deserving students with exceptional academic results hailing from the Karas Region for the 2013 academic year.
This brings the number of students sponsored by Skorpion Zinc through this fund to four. Last year, two students, currently in their second year at the Polytechnic of Namibia studying Engineering and IT were awarded full bursaries for the duration of their study programmes.
This year’s recipients are Brandon Cloete and Fousy Jaar from Karasburg High School and Suiderlig High School, respectively. Cloete will attend the Polytechnic while Jaar has become a UNAM student.
The bursary fund, which was initiated by the Governor, Hon. Swartbooi, and Skorpion Zinc’s General Manager, Satish Kumar, is tailor made for the Karas Region. It caters for two best and well deserving students per year in the Karas region communities. The bursary covers tuition, accommodation, travel and book allowances. Of importance though is that such a child must be drawn from a disadvantaged background but with very good academic results to ensure the successful completion of his or her studies.
In his remarks, Satish Kumar, General Manager of Skorpion Zinc stated that “training and skills development remains at the heart of the company and not only do we ensure a skilled workforce for Skorpion Zinc but we also train for other markets as well. For our own staff we have various Graduate and Management Trainee Programs as well as other programs ranging from Artisan Training to the Vedanta Global Exchange Programs. It is of utmost importance for us to invest in the skills of the children of the Karas Region to ensure that they come back and contribute to the development of the Region.
Skorpion Zinc offers bursaries in various disciplines such as Mining and Mechanical Engineering, Geology and Accounting. Besides the bursaries, the mine also offers job attachments to students not directly attached to the mine.
During the ceremony, the Governor of the Karas Region, Hon. Bernadus Swartbooi commended Skorpion Zinc for its continued contribution. “This scholarship programme caters for all deserving and high performing students from schools within the Karas Region. My office is determined to ensure that opportunities are created and resources allocated for children of the Karas Region to enter institutions of higher learning and finances not be a limitation” he said.

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