Funza Lushaka Fellows sign a scholarship contract at the beginning of each year they receive the scholarship. The agreement sets out the terms of the scholarship`s financing. One of the essential features of the Funza Lushaka scholarship program is that it is linked to a duty of service after a teacher qualification. This means that once graduated, a Funeral Fellow from Funza Lushaka must immediately take up an apprenticeship position at a public school. Graduates are placed by a provincial training department in a public school where a teacher is required. Each year of service will reimburse one full-time year of the scholarship. Intermediation cannot be deferred for any reason and graduates can be placed anywhere in the province or even in the country. Applications for the Funza Lushaka Scholarship for the 2017 Academic Year will be open on October 1, 2016. All applications must be www.funzalushaka.doe.gov.za online.

All new fellows and returnees must apply for the scholarship online. The program should focus in particular on hiring foundation educators capable of teaching in an African language. The emphasis on technical schools through the introduction of Technical Caps also requires that the Funza Lushaka program attract more and more teachers in fields such as technical mathematics, technical sciences, engineering, graphic design and design, mechanical technology, electrical engineering, etc. The Funza Lushaka Scholarship Program was launched in 2007 as part of numerous efforts to address the challenges of teacher supply and demand in basic education. Since 2007, more than 91,267 Funza Lushaka scholarships have been awarded. In the 2015/16 financial year, 13,980 scholarships were awarded. An analysis of these excellent scholarships shows that 2,576 students were in their first year, while 4,616 were in the fourth year. The decrease in the number of scholarship recipients in the first year is due to the fact that the funeral of the Funza Lushaka must retain more existing students, while there are fewer scholarships available for new applicants.

The State Ministry of Finance awarded for the fiscal year 2016/17 R1.043.611.00 R1.043.611.00. This amount will be sufficient to fund some 14,000 students for the 2016 academic year. The Funza Lushaka scholarship program has processed 51,220 applications for the 4,000 scholarships available for new applicants for 2016 until 16 January 2016. The departmental and community campaign on teacher recruitment has focused, among other things, on the accession of future teachers of mathematics, science and technology. Provincial Ministries of Culture (EDPs) selected potential candidates and submitted approved lists to the DBE. The focus is on both class 12 learners and young out-of-school students. EPS works closely with universities to help learners apply and ensure that Funza Lushaka`s scholarships and specialized scholarships and university admission requirements are met. District and parish campaigns to recruit teachers are aimed at schools in districts where there is a shortage of teachers, provided that students recruited by these schools return to these schools to teach.

The Funza Lushaka Scholarship Program aims to fund 25% of students enrolled in public universities for initial training programs recognized for educational programs, namely the Bachelors in Education (BEd) or the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). The Funza Lushaka Scholarship Program is not a student support program, but a quality scholarship. The DBE and primary education establish the programme to combat the critical shortage of teachers in certain disciplines and phases of the school.