Witzenberg Municipality Study Bursary

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Witzenberg Municipality, based in Ceres in the Cape Winelands, offers study bursaries that pay one thing only: the registration fee of a Witzenberg student at an approved tertiary institution. Each award is for one year. The municipality’s most recent call, “Study Bursaries for 2026 (For 1 Year)”, was published on 11 February 2026 and closed six days later, on 17 February 2026 before 12:00. Witzenberg had not published a call for 2027 by 29 September 2026.

One year of registration, if funds allow

The notice states that “the bursary will cover only registration fees”. It does not pay tuition, accommodation, books or living costs, and it lasts for a single academic year. Even the registration payment depends on money being available: the notice says the awards are “subject to the availability of Municipal Funding for Bursaries”, and the municipality reserves the right not to award any bursaries at all. The notice gives no number of awards and no rand value, so the amount is whatever the student’s institution charges for registration.

Because the rest of the year’s costs are not covered, a student would normally combine this with other funding. Students at public universities and TVET colleges can use the NSFAS 2027 application guide, and the Western Cape government bursaries list covers provincial departments that fund full study costs.

The 60% mark and the R15 000 household limit

The 2026 notice set four minimum requirements:

• South African citizenship, and living in the Witzenberg area, which includes Ceres, Tulbagh, Wolseley, Prince Alfred Hamlet and Op die Berg
• an age of 18 to 35
• at least 60% in the final examination
• a combined household income of no more than R15 000 a month

Preference goes to applicants from historically disadvantaged groups and to people with disabilities. The notice does not restrict the field of study, and it does not say which institutions count as “approved”.

Getting the form in Ceres

Witzenberg does not post the application form online. The form was available at the municipality’s main offices in Ceres, or by email on request. Completed forms, with certified copies of qualifications, could reach the municipality in three ways:

• by hand at the Main Building, 50 Voortrekker Road, Ceres 6835
• by email to jobs@witzenberg.gov.za
• by post to the Human Resource Section, Private Bag X44, Ceres 6835

Late applications are not considered, applications are not acknowledged in writing, and supporting documents are not returned. Only successful applicants are notified, and the municipality says silence for 30 days after the deadline means the application failed. Telephone enquiries go to Willy Davids on (023) 316 1854. The full wording is in the 2026 study bursaries notice.

Applications go to the municipality’s HR section, so applicants should know that Witzenberg issued a scam alert in March 2026 about a caller who posed as a municipal HR official, asked a member of the public for personal information and tried to meet her outside the offices. The municipality asks people to phone its HR department to check whether a contact is genuine.

A one-week window in February

The 2026 round was short: the notice went up on 11 February and the deadline was noon on 17 February. Witzenberg has not said whether it will offer the bursary again for 2027 or when a call would appear. New notices are published in the news section of witzenberg.gov.za, where the 2026 call is filed under the category “Bursary 2026”.

FAQs