Palabora bursar speaks of life at university

2006-06-28

Arnold Muhlare, former PROTEC student Mr Arnold Muhlare is a first year student studying for a degree in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Pretoria with a bursary from the Palabora Mining Company. Arnold and his parents are very grateful to Palabora for awarding their son with a bursary. He came back home for the July holidays and visited the Palabora Foundation’s Rixile Education Centre and gave an account of his life at the university.

Arnold was a former PROTEC student. The PROTEC and Master Maths programmes have helped many high school students to obtain high symbols in Mathematics and Science which enabled them to be selected to various engineering courses at the tertiary institutions with bursaries from the mining companies. The major sponsors to the PROTEC Programme in Phalaborwa are Palabora Mining Company, Foskor and Sasol Nitro. Lepelle Northern Water, Phalaborwa Business Chamber, the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, Professional Career Consultants, the Department of Education and Standard Bank are the other sponsors. This programme has been running in Phalaborwa since 1998.

Arnold says, “High school education is very easy compared to university education because you can depend a lot on your teachers and parents while at school, but at the university you are alone and independent and the amount of work is enormous and the time period is very short. Had it not been for the PROTEC programme, I would not have reached where I am today”. He further commented that the independence at the university was one of the biggest problems that he was experiencing and one must have a lot of self discipline in order not to end up as a drop out. Arnold advised the youngsters to be very careful while choosing friends. He gave a tip: “Associate yourself with senior students who are doing well in their studies”. He also advised the youth to be computer literate to enhance their progress at university. He is determined to complete his degree in four years and to come back and work for Palabora Mining Company in 2010.

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