Limpho Sello
MASILO Mafube has made history by becoming the first National University of Lesotho (NUL) graduate to be offered a bursary to further his studies in France, courtesy of the Embassy of France in South Africa.
The bursary will see Mr Mafube study for an International Master’s Degree in Management at Audencia Nantes School of Management, beginning next month.
He is set to become the only Lesotho citizen among this year’s 25 beneficiaries of the annual bursary programme, with the rest being South Africans. The recipients are set to pursue Master’s studies at French universities from September in various fields, among them Finance, Economics, Engineering, Public Relations, Media, Business, Journalism, Fashion, International Relations and Political Science, Biology and Sport Science.
The Alliance Française of Maseru Director, Camille Perdereau, on Friday said when announcing Mr Mafube’s good fortune: “For the first time in the context of this programme, a student who graduated from the National University of Lesotho has also been selected as a beneficiary.
“He will be studying in Nantes, which is in north-western France. These bursaries are offered annually to students to promote Franco-South African academic exchange and cooperation, and are funded by the French government, and managed by the French government agency Campus France, which also has an office in South Africa. Students are selected based on criteria of academic merit, motivation, previous experience and their career-objectives.
“They will depart soon to study at various tertiary institutions all over France – in Paris, Rennes, Nantes, Dijon, Lyon, etc. This programme has delivered Master’s graduates in various fields, including Business, Law, Social Sciences and Engineering.”
Mr Mafube, on his part, said he was very happy to have received the rare opportunity to study in France.
“This is a dream-come-true for me and I am savouring every moment already,” Mr Mafube said. “I first heard about the bursary programme from my lecturer, Dr Limakatso Chaka, while studying basic French.
“At that time, I had finished my degree and was struggling to find a job and so I had opted to continue studying part-time, while I also kept researching about opportunities to further my studies.
“I then had an interview with the Embassy of France in South Africa, which went very well although it was my first telephone interview,” Mr Mafube said.
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