As the pioneers of the ‘Free Tertiary Education’ movement in South Africa, over 20 years, Community and Individual Development Association (founded in 1979) and its subsidiaries have helped to create free access to six institutions of higher learning and have educated 19,073 unemployed youth out of poverty. Program graduates are employed in jobs earning over US $100 million collectively in annual salaries, alongside the creation of more than 5,000 businesses. Over their careers these formerly unemployed youth will earn over US $3 billion. The organization has a proven track-record of bridging unemployed youth into high-level jobs in the economy. The Maharishi Invincibility Institute is the core focus, and is working to create the first ultra-low-cost chain of holistic university and college education accessible to all. Maharishi Institute has won a global award as the most innovative education institution in the world, as well as being chosen by Stanford University in 2019, as one of only two higher education institutions in Africa for its re-imagining higher education report for 2025. The organization has provided one-week training courses to over 600,000 South Africans. CIDA is creator and lead project manager for the South African National School system reform initiative, E3 (E-cubed), introducing Entrepreneurship, Employability in Education across the entire South Africa school system to reach all 13 million school learners every year by 2025.
As South Africa emerges from apartheid, educational opportunity is vital, but out of reach for many.
CIDA opened South Africa's first free university.
Taddy Blecher pioneered a new model in which students earn degrees while contributing to the operation of the campus.
4,500 students earned business degrees at CIDA City Campus, and the model has been replicated worldwide.
Public-private partnership to reduce poverty 90 percent in 15 years in South Africa. Creating and leading a multi-stakeholder pact and transversal model working to ensure 100 percent of school-leavers in South Africa are empowered to 1) continue studying 2) get a job; or 3) start their own ventures. Creating ultra-low-cost college education at $2 per day.
CIDA has signed partnership with the National Department of Education to lead the system change reform initiative to modernize the school system to be relevant for employment and economic relevance for youth. This initiative is piloting with 250,000 students in nine provinces and will grow to 13 million youth by 2025.
CEO, Community and Individual Development Association, Community and Individual Development Association City Campus
Taddy Blecher is a pioneer of the free and affordable education movement in South Africa, creating six free institutions of higher learning. He became CEO of CIDA (the Community and Individual Development Association) in 1999, and he and his colleagues opened CIDA City Campus, South Africa’s first free university dedicated to providing disadvantaged youth the chance to earn a fully accredited, four-year business degree. He served as Group CEO of CIDA City Campus until 2007. After leaving CIDA, he launched a new urban campus, the Maharishi Institute, and the rural Ezemvelo Eco-Campus. Taddy is also the Chairperson of the SA National Government task team on Entrepreneurship, Education and Job Creation in the national Department of Basic Education, founding the E3 initiative (Employability, Entrepreneurship, and Education in Schools), and in that role has developed, and is implementing, the national strategy to put entrepreneurship and employability skills into the SA school structure as a system-wide initiative to effect this transformation for 13 million school children per year. Taddy is an expert in the approach of Consciousness-Based Education, a system of education designed to develop the full potential of every student. This led the Maharishi Institute to winning the first prize in a global competition in Bahrain to find the most innovative education initiative in the world.
