The Wits Accounting Students’ Council (ASC) started a calculator drive through a lending out system to assist students who cannot afford financial calculators.
Financial calculators are a requirement for students who study accounting and the initiative aims to help students who cannot afford to purchase the calculators.
The ASC launched the drive on last week and offers the calculators to students on a one-day loan basis. The collection of the calculators is at the ASC’s offices located in the FNB building on campus.
A second year BAccSci student and ASC social development officer, Bongiwe Ntshangwe spoke to Wits Vuvuzela about the initiative and its intended impact. “We, the ASC, aim to grant all students within our faculty the opportunity to have access to all resources available to make their stay at the university the most beneficial,” she said.
The calculators were funded by the School of Accountancy. The ASC is still trying to get donations for more calculators from individuals in the corporate field. “Any help will be welcome with the hopes of building a project which will enable accounting students to never again fear that they are ill-equipped to pass their courses and become the leaders of tomorrow,” said Ntshangwe.
Wits Vuvuzela spoke to Sandile Zwane, a third year BCom Internal Auditing and Accounting student, about the drive. “I think that the initiative is great, especially during exam times because that’s probably when you’ll need it the most. I think that the time allocation may be a tad short considering accounting students have four subjects to study for,” he said.
A student who intends to borrow a calculator is required to sign a contract with ASC before they take the calculator. In the event a student does not return the calculator, the full amount of the calculator will be charged from their fees statement. In an extreme case, legal action will be taken.
“Our long-term goal is to provide all enrolled first years with financial calculators. This will help us in the long run as these students will be able to use these calculators throughout the duration of their degree,” said
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