Education for Change: Students in Higher Education as Agents for Community Development
Makume Tlaleane (Umsobomvu Youth Fund)
Abstract
The paper shares the South African National Youth Service Programme (NYSP) experience generated from initial work based on the policy imperative of extending community service, for higher education students, beyond the health professions, so as to widen the application of professional services to under-served communities, and enable young professionals to play a meaningful role in community development. Through this work the NYSP makes opportunities available for students where the lived experiences of volunteer civic service becomes an integral part of extra-mural university education. This enhances the employability of participating youth to access employment upon graduation in the context of the emerging phenomenon of graduate unemployment.
