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04 April 2018 Photo SASCOC
Large Kovsie contingent at Commonwealth Games
Elmé de Villiers (badminton) is one of several former or current Kovsies who will be in action at the Commonwealth Games between 5 and 15 April.

The University of the Free State (UFS) will be well represented at the Commonwealth Games with 11 current or former Kovsies participating in Australia.

The Games take place from 5 to 15 April on the Gold Coast. For many of the sporting codes, this is the second biggest sporting stage after the Olympic Games.

The eight athletes are Ts’epang Sello, Juanelie Meijer and Karla Pretorius (current students) and former Kovsies Juanré Jenkinson, Elmé de Villiers, Nicole Walraven, Maryka Holtzhausen and Philip Snyman. 

In addition, three members of the management team, Neil Powell, Kate Roberts and Jan Wahl, all previously studied at the UFS. 

Holtzhausen and Powell at their third Games 
Sello will be competing in the 800m in the colours of Lesotho, her country of birth. 

Pretorius is the vice-captain of the netball team and Holtzhausen was the former captain before her serious injury in 2016. Pretorius is doing a postgraduate in Dietetics and Holtzhausen is a contract worker at Kovsiesport. She will be competing at her third Games. 
De Villiers is a member of the South African badminton team and Walraven is with the Protea hockey team. Snyman will captain the rugby team.

Meijer (long jump) and Jenkinson (shot put) will battle in the para-athletic programme.

Powell will coach the Blitzbokke who are the defending champions from 2014. It will be his second Games in charge. He also won the bronze medal as a player in 2010. 

Roberts is the manager of the triathlon team and a participant in 2006. Wahl will act as the manager of the para-athletics team.

News Archive

Prof André Keet elected to Council on Higher Education and as Social Cohesion Advocate for Department of Arts and Culture
2015-06-17

Earlier this year, the Minister of Higher Education and Training,Dr Blade Nzimande, appointed Prof André Keet from the UFS’s Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice to the Council on Higher Education (CHE). Given his focus on higher education studies and transformation, Prof Keet said he is looking forward to serving on this council.

Functions of CHE

“One of the main functions of the CHE,” Prof Keet said, “is to advise the Minister of Higher Education and Training on all aspects of higher education policy.” Other vital functions include the development and implementation of a quality assurance system specifically for higher education as well as to monitor and report on the state of higher education in general. The CHE also engages closely with key national issues and international trends to ensure the continual development of our higher education system.

Social cohesion advocate and additional appointments

In addition, Prof Keet has been appointed recently as a Social Cohesion Advocate linked to the work of the Department of Arts and Culture’s social cohesion programme, which advises the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Nathi Mthethwa. Prof Keet also serves on the Ministerial Oversight Committee for the Transformation of Higher Education in South Africa, and Higher Education South Africa’s (HESA) transformation structures.

“These appointments serve the interests of the University of the Free State, and affirm the great work being done at the university. I’m simply part of a collective effort at the university, and salute the students and staff members who work tirelessly on the Academic and Human Projects of UFS,” Prof Keet said.

Dr Nzimande has announced recently that a second Higher Education Summit, following the one in 2010, will be convened from 15 – 17 October 2015.

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