Municipal spokesman Zweli Dlamini said 150 deserving youths of Ekurhuleni were awarded the bursaries to follow any field of their choice, and the money was to be used for tuition only.
Handing out the cheques, Mekgwe appealed to the learners to use the money for education.
"The money we are handing out today does not come from my back pocket, but the ratepayers. This money would have gone to other projects but I have decided that we should empower our young people as part of responding to the call by the president and government prioritising education in the country," Mekgwe explained.
The R3.3m comes from the mayor's discretionary fund.
It was created by the municipality with the aim of assisting pupils from destitute backgrounds to further their studies.