Page 66 - CAO 25th Ann Coffee Table Book

TADDY BLECHER
DIRECTOR OF THE MAHARISHI INSTITUTE
17 August 2016
Abridged keynote address delivered at the 2015/2016 Annual General Meeting ‘Education that pays for itself’.
Let me start by saying that it’s wonderful to be here with people who are at the
heart of higher education in KZN, and how impressed I am by the work of the CAO.
I know how hard it is to run a non-profit, having to survive without money from the government. It demands excellence and passion to ultimately change hundreds of thousands of lives. I am deeply moved, not just by the work you’re doing but because it reminds me of where I came from and why I do what I do.
My grandparents fled Eastern Europe during the Second World War and arrived in Johannesburg with nothing but the clothes on their backs. As
a teenager, my father realised that the only way he could help his family was by getting a university education. So he worked as many jobs as he could, throughout high school, and saved every cent to achieve his goal. He attended Wits, studied medicine and specialised as a gynaecologist/obstetrician – but he didn’t stop there. Every cent he earned was spent on education. He not only made sure his four children could go to the best schools, he also paid for 34 people to go to university. In my family, education was religion. That’s why I’ve worked for 21 years to give disadvantaged youth access to this basic human right.
Education means access to jobs, to a future. Education is freedom. But today, South Africa’s future is
dark. Last year, ‘fees must fall’ took us to a crisis point. Today, we’re at a crossroads; no fees increase last year, only 6% next year, no economic growth, no tax base growth. We’re under pressure with our backs against the wall and seemingly no way out.
But there is a way out, a way forward. I’m here to talk to you about a revolutionary concept. I’m here to tell you that the idea that education can pay for itself is possible. It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s not going to be easy but it’s already happening all over the world. And it’s already happening right here in South Africa.
Sixteen years ago, we approached government and a number of institutions to help us create a way for kids from previously disadvantaged families to get a free education. We were turned down. Out of desperation, with no buildings, no money, no teachers
and no support, we went out on our own. We wrote to 350 school principals, asking for their brightest kids who didn’t have the opportunity to get a post-school education, and offered our help for a mere R150 a month. We received 3 500 applications to a school that didn’t even exist.
Those humble beginnings took us on a journey to opening the Maharishi Institute in 2007. Maharishi is an education hub where we focus on developing the full potential and leadership abilities of kids who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity. Today, our organisation is 70% self-sufficient and within two years I’m confident we’ll be 100% self-sufficient and running at a tenth of the cost of public institutions. But how do we do it without funding support?
We use a variety of new graduate repayment models. We run a ‘pay it forward’ system: a sponsor pays for a
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