Optometry final year student Mthokozisi Mbonambi and College of Health Sciences SRC representative Sphesihle Mhlongo with the expensive optometry equipment needed for studying in second year. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad/African News Agency (ANA)
Durban - Students learning to care for the country’s visual health feel “blindsided” at the cost of equipment vital to their success.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) student representative council (SRC) and the optometry discipline have launched a fund-raising campaign to assist students who cannot afford optometry learning materials.
The College of Health Sciences SRC representative Sphesihle Mhlongo said the SRC came up with this initiative because many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“The SRC has partnered with the College of Health Sciences to come up with ways to tackle this matter. The mere fact that we are studying in this institution through the means of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) tells you a lot about our financial situation.
“The equipment costs about R21 000 and we cannot afford that amount of money. We are pleading with entrepreneurs, NGOs and business associates to lend a helping hand by donating or sponsoring the College of Health Sciences with optometric equipment,” said Mhlongo.
As part of their comprehensive clinical training, all optometry students are required to buy their own optometric equipment which is not covered by the Nsfas.
A final year optometry student, who asked not to be named, said he had managed to buy the equipment using his own money. However, he believed the university did not fully inform them of the need to buy equipment in the long run.
“I am one of a few students who was able to buy the equipment, and it becomes a challenge for me to use it during practicals because I end up lending some of it to my classmates. Honestly, I feel like the university blindsided us from the beginning because if we knew it would cost us so much money for us to get qualified, we would've known what we got ourselves into. This issue has been going on for years and still there’s no solution,” he said.
Students felt the university would lose a number of undergraduate students who would love to pursue a career in this field, but were unable to because they could not afford the equipment.
“If this problem is not resolved, the institution might lose students in the near future because no one would want to pursue optometry. There are not so many optometrists in the rural areas and we would love to change that someday, but with the challenges we are facing within the university our dreams seem impossible to achieve,” he added.
The UKZN’s discipline of optometry is at the forefront of developing optometric practitioners that will contribute to the visual welfare of the nation, as well as researchers who will contribute towards scholarship within the profession beyond the borders of our country.
The university appeals to donors to contribute towards the education of an optometrist by sponsoring equipment.
Cash donations can be made through the UKZN Foundation. All donor contributions received by the UKZN Foundation that meet the criteria, will qualify donors to receive a section 18 A tax certificate.
The Independent on Saturday
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