Dr Sharmla Chetty: Empowering future generations through education

Dr Sharmla Chetty, the chief executive of Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE), a part of Duke University in the US has excelled academically and professionally, flying the South African flag high in the aspirational pursuits.

However, Chetty has not forgotten her roots and remembers how financial insecurity might provide hurdles for seeking education. She has made it her duty to support young women who have overcome similar hurdles in their journeys.

Today, she has access to opportunities that she previously struggled to get. Her dedication to education is more than just generosity; it is a deliberate approach to breaking poverty cycles and promoting long-term community development.

Chetty has especially taken to giving back to her former high school, Merebank Secondary School in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Vimla Chetty, the acting deputy principal at the school said the philanthropist visited the school with a team of educators before beginning the empowering programme of setting up female learners for higher education.

“Her story is quite unbelievable. I had not heard of her previously … I was taken aback by her ascension into such a leadership role. She told us that she wanted to finance the tertiary education of students, and she was being very generous,” she explained.

The educator went on to explain that Chetty chose it based on academic merit, financial need as well as electing learners that were committed to their studies.

“She was also looking at the missing middle. This is the income group over R350,000 which NSFAS does not fund. Sharmla wanted to fund that sector of students. The students that were chosen could not afford higher education and her funding included everything, accommodation, textbooks and fees.”

The school’s principal Kishan Bridgelal said that she also funded the school in 2023 by giving the institution a substantial cash donation.

“It was to be utilised to improve results. It went into the maths, science and other gateway subjects including accounting. 

“In the end of 2024, she gave us another substantial cash donation, which was to be for 2025. Her contribution has resulted in a significant change in our NSC results, we moved up from 74% to 79.8%,” said Bridgelal.

He added that her efforts are highly commendable because Africa lacks women in science.

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