South Africa Education Program (SAEP)

Background

In the 1960s and 1970s, increasing media attention shed light on the racist apartheid system in South Africa . Civil rights and freedom movements in the United States and elsewhere brought into sharp relief South Africa's inhumane political and socioeconomic structure, and the violent oppression of its black majority. The educational disparities in South Africa were vast. In 1970, it was reported that there were only 1,400 non-white South African university graduates in that country, contrasted with 104,500 white university graduates. Whites constituted less than 15% of the total population.

Realizing the debilitating affects of an under-educated black population on social, political and economic development, the Institute of International Education (IIE) established in 1979 a landmark program to increase higher educational opportunities for Black South Africans, the South Africa Education Program (SAEP). This initiative was designed to redress the extreme social inequities imposed by the apartheid regime by providing disadvantaged students with the knowledge, skills and professional credentials required to participate in a burgeoning democratic society.

Participants

During the program's first academic year (1979-1980), six students from South Africa traveled to the U.S. to attend school. When the program ended in 2001, nearly 1,700 participants had completed their educational programs and returned to South Africa . Primary fields of study included education, business, law, health administration and engineering with over 1,000 students awarded graduate degrees and over 600 students completing their undergraduate programs in the United States .

Partnership Development

Although the Institute originally designed the SAEP, there were many partners from the public, private and NGO sector institutions who contributed to its successful implementation. Policy guidance for the program was given through a National Council, established by IIE and chaired by Harvard University president Derek Bok. The National Council included such distinguished members as Donald Easum, President of the African-American Institute and William Carmicheal, head of the Ford Foundation's Office for the Middle East and Africa . In 1979, the Educational Opportunities Council (EOC) was established in South Africa with Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu as its founding chairman. The EOC shared responsibility with IIE for the recruitment and selection of participants to the program for nearly 20 years. Beyond coordinating these critical administrative partnerships, IIE garnered financial support from over 172 colleges and universities for full scholarships or tuition waivers. Over the life of the SAEP, private sector contributions also grew to include over 85 corporate and foundation funding agencies.

One notable SAEP advocate was Rev. Leon Sullivan, the author/founder of the Sullivan Principles for U.S. corporations doing business in South Africa , and a member of the board of directors of General Motors Corporation. He strongly endorsed the IIE program and influenced several American corporations to contribute to improve the educational and economic opportunities of black South Africans.

Starting in 1983 the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) recognized the importance and capacity of the SAEP and provided an initial $3 million award for additional SAEP scholarships. The primary funders of the SAEP were the USAID, U.S. International Communication Agency, the United Nations Educational and Training Program for Southern Africa , The Ford Foundation, The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and an anonymous donor.

SAEP Accomplishments

The greatest testimony to the success of the SAEP is ironically the closing of the SAEP itself. With the election of Mandela as the President of South Africa and his award of the Nobel Peace Prize came international recognition that apartheid would indeed be dismantled and that another chapter in the development of South Africa was beginning - the work of integrated nation building. Many of the corporations and foundations that had been the bulwark of support for South African education programs began to reduce their commitments. U.S. Government funding also shifted due to a shift in demand for more targeted short-term training including graduate degree programs.

The SAEP's benefits to a more democratic and educated society in South Africa are clear:

• 1,659 SAEP fellows completed their undergraduate, graduate or short-term training programs;

• 95 % of alumni/ae returned to South Africa with degrees;

• The value of awards from USAID totaled over $29 million;

• The value of awards offered by U.S. colleges and universities from 1979 to 1992 was $38,500,000; and

• The value of corporate and foundation contributions from 1979 to 1992 was $5,700,000.

SAEP Alumni Include:

Worldwide Offices

Headquartered in New York City, IIE has two offices in Washington, DC and four Regional Centers in the domestic United States. In addition, IIE has offices in 18 international locations. Click to view a list of all IIE Worldwide offices.