MatiesHaveDrive is a Stellenbosch University (SU) initiative that financially assists students with getting their driving license after completing a series of driving lessons. The initiative covers the costs of driving lessons as well as the drivers’ test completed at the Stellenbosch Municipality Driving License Testing Centre, said Fawaaz Cupido, the MatiesHaveDrive accountability officer. PHOTO: Buhle Bam
A Stellenbosch University (SU) driving license financial aid initiative is restructuring its programme to avoid another year of low pass rates.
This is according to Fawaaz Cupido, the Senior Prim Committee’s MatiesHaveDrive accountability officer and final-year BA (Human Resource Management) student at SU.
According to Cupido, this year’s programme will accommodate 12 students. This is less than the 20 students the programme initially accommodated in 2020.
Furthermore, the initiative will cover the costs of 15 driving lessons per student, as opposed to the standard of ten lessons per student, said Cupido.
“You really want to invest time in the students so that we can have a high [pass rate]”, said Cupido.
Hereby, the initiative will accommodate less students, offer more driving lessons and implement stricter accountability measures.
Fawaaz Cupido, the MatiesHaveDrive accountability officer, believes that this is an important initiative that can be improved upon with the new accountability measures he and his task team intend to implement. PHOTO: Buhle Bam
“Last year the numbers failed dismally,” he said. “I think not having secure accountability measures, things went wrong.”
The 12 students will be divided into two groups of six students, said Cupido.
Cupido said that the smaller groups will ensure that MatiesHaveDrive accountability partners have the capacity to fully support each participant.
Driving licenses as tools for success
MatiesHaveDrive has enabled successful participants to play an active role in solving degree-related transportation issues, said Cupido.
“A lot of education and social work students in the BA faculty […] have to be mobile because they get placements anywhere, according to randomised lists,” he said.
In the past, students who got their driving licenses through the initiative would rent cars from the SU Vehicle Fleet, form car clubs and travel with classmates “working at the same community centre or working place”, he said.
“You need that driver,” said Hellen Mmile, a MatiesHaveDrive alumni who passed her driving test in 2022. “We go as far out as Worcester. I was placed in Worcester.”
“Driving is a skill that everyone needs to have,” said Hellen Mmile, a MatiesHaveDrive alumni, who passed her driving test in September 2022. PHOTO: Buhle Bam
Beyond participants’ time at SU, this initiative sets participants up for the working world, said Cupido.
“A lot of perks come with mobility,” said Cupido. “You have a much higher chance of employment if you’re mobile and you have a driver’s license.” he said.
“I am a social worker by profession,” said Mmile. “All social workers need driver’s licenses to be employed.”
The journey of becoming a driver
This year, MatiesHaveDrive has partnered with Niklaas and Nita Driving School, said Cupido.
“We partnered with the university in 2023,” said Niklaas Willemse, driving instructor and co-owner of Niklaas and Nita Driving School.
Niklaas Willemse, the co-owner of Niklaas and Nita Driving School, is excited to be partnering with MatiesHaveDrive for a second time. PHOTO: Buhle Bam
Cupido said that Willemse and his wife, Nita, will be helping MatiesHaveDrive participants learn how to drive.
The first 2025 MatiesHaveDrive group will begin the process of learning how to drive over the SU June/July break, said Cupido.
Willemse looks forward to meeting the new students. “We meet as strangers, we leave as friends,” he said.
MatiesHaveDrive is a student-led initiative that requires partnerships with various stakeholders. The partnerships allow for an initiative like MatiesHaveDrive to change students’ lives academically and professionally, said Fawaaz Cupido, the MatiesHaveDrive accountability officer. VIDEO: Buhle Bam