Al-Qalam 
From left Dr Mohamed Raiman (Chairperson IDB Education Trust SA), Muhammad Asmal - (Recipient of inaugural), Mohamed Amra (Excellence Performance Award presented by his son Saajid Amra) and Shk Bilal Ismail (Tarbiyyah Facilitator)
By Nabeelah Shaikh
The Islamic Development Bank Education Trust South Africa is hoping to grow its footprint in the country with the aim of assisting more students who cannot financially afford tertiary education.
The IDB is a development bank based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and a scholarship programme is one of its many components. The organisation offers interest free loans to Muslim students who cannot afford tertiary education.
The organisation’s chairperson, Dr Mohamed Raiman, said the aim of the IDB Education Trust is to provide scholarships to Muslims in non-Muslim countries, to help them develop their human potential and subsequently create committed Muslim professionals, who are a good representative of Islam and work to uplift their communities. Their motto is “Mind, Character and Community.”
Raiman has been the chairperson of the organisation since 2018. He was a student of the IDB after he completed his matric at the Orient Islamic School in 1998 and his medical degree at the University of Natal Medical School.
“I have been involved with the IDB since my student days. I was one of their students and graduates. I studied medicine and I am now an Anesthesiologist in private practice, in Durban,” said Raiman.
He says the IDB has been in South Africa for almost 40 years.
“It is not just a bursary programme, we assist with finances for students and have a strong student development and tarbiyyah component. It’s an interest free loan – we cover tuition fees for tertiary education which is then refunded by the student once they start to earn. These funds are then recycled to fund other students.” said Raiman.
“The organisation has not received any financial support from IDB Head Office in Jeddah over the past few years which means the organisation is functioning as a Waqf now. Costs of tertiary education are escalating hence we have to manage our finances in order to ensure sustainability of the program. Unfortunately, we also have students who drop out of university and don’t complete their degrees and then there are a few that don’t pay back their loans despite qualifying and earning. This is extremely unfortunate as it denies other students the opportunity that they benefitted from,” said Raiman.
Excellence Performance Award
Annually, one IDB student is chosen for the Excellence Performance Award (EPA) based on academic performance and involvement in tarbiyyah and outreach programmes. In 2022, This award was renamed in honour of one of the founders of the IDB in South Africa, Mr Mohamed Amra, who passed away. “Uncle Mohamed was a key figure in the IDB and conducted our Tarbiyyah programmes when I was a student. He was a mentor to myself and other students and graduates and he will be sorely missed.” said Raiman. The recipient of the inaugural award was Muhammad Asmal a student from Stanger.
Graduates
He says with the IDB being in South Africa for 40 years now, the organisation has a huge database of graduates.
“We have many doctors, other health professionals, engineers and graduates in many other fields. We hope to harness this network of graduates a bit better in the near future. We want them to get involved in the IDB Graduates Association – to mentor current students and to participate in our outreach programmes. We hope to help them to be active in the development of their communities through their professions and to take up leadership roles,” said Raiman.
With the school year coming to an end, Raiman encourages Muslim students to apply for the programme if they are in need of funding. Preference is given to 1st year students in public tertiary institutions.
The closing date for applications this year is the 15th of December. Apply on their website www.idb.org.za. Contact info@idb.org.za or WhatsApp 0829040645 for more info.
