Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
17 December 2018 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa
Karla takes netball world by storm
Karla Pretorius, vice-captain of the Protea netball team, has become a leading player in world netball.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has produced a number of exceptional netball players over the years, but none quite on the level of Karla Pretorius, who is widely considered as probably the very best in her position.

 

A whole new level


Pretorius, who is completing her postgraduate studies in Dietetics, was already deemed one of the best when she left for Australia at the end of 2016; however, she has since risen to a whole new level. The Protea vice-captain plays for the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball league, the world’s leading competition. She is scheduled to return there again next year. Karla comfortably leads the stats with a total of 50 intercepts and was named in the Team of the Tournament.

 

According to the former Australian coach, Norma Plummer, who is now at the helm of the Proteas, “Karla currently has to be one of the best, if not the best, goal defenders playing at this moment in time.”

 

Karla’s ability to come through with speed-anticipating interceptions is something that is so exciting to watch. She is very versatile and can switch from one-on-one to split circle or other defensive styles, explained Norma. She says Karla is light in stature but physically very strong.

 

Keep on improving

 

According to Pretorius, who played for the Kovsies between 2009 and 2015, playing in an environment where every possible aspect gets attention – with emphasis on detail – has benefited her immensely. “Everything is done so professionally to eventually push you to become the best possible player.” Karla explained that she experiences challenges in many fields of her life but has the chance to play with and against the best players with different skills, which helps her to keep on improving and bettering her craft.

News Archive

UFS Council adopts guidelines for the development of a new Language Policy
2015-12-04

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) adopted the following guidelines from the report by the Language Committee regarding the development of a new Language Policy for the UFS, based on the core values of inclusivity and multilingualism:

  1. that English becomes the primary medium of instruction in undergraduate education and, as largely exists already, in postgraduate education.
  2. that the UFS embeds and enables a language-rich environment committed to multilingualism, with particular attention to Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu, and other languages represented on the three campuses.
  3. that an expanded tutorial system be available to especially first-year students in Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu and other languages, in order to facilitate the transition to English instruction.
  4. that the parallel-medium policy continues in particular professional programmes, given the well-defined Afrikaans markets that, at the moment, still makes such language-specific graduate preparation relevant.
  5. that the language of administration be English.
  6. that the English-medium language policy be implemented with flexibility and understanding, rather than as a rigid rule disregarding the circumstances.

These guidelines were adopted at the Council meeting which took place on the Bloemfontein Campus on Friday 4 December 2015.

“This important and emotive matter was discussed in a high-quality, open debate and I am satisfied with the way the decision was reached,” says Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairperson of the UFS Council.

The decision by Council comes after a mandate was given to the University Management on 4 June 2015 to conduct a review of the institutional Language Policy. A Language Committee was subsequently established by the University Management Committee (UMC) to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing parallel-medium policy and to make recommendations on the way forward with respect to the university's Language Policy.

The Language Committee conducted a comprehensive consultation process on the future of the Language Policy with all university stakeholders. This included multiple dialogue and submissions sessions, as well as an opinion poll on all three campuses.

Guided by the Council resolution of 4 December 2015, the UFS management will now proceed to design a Language Policy that would be presented to the UMC and Senate for voting purposes again, which vote would be formally presented to Council at one of its governance meetings in 2016. The Institutional Forum, a statutory body that represents all university stakeholders, would also advise Council at that stage, per its mandate, on the new Language Policy.

In the event that a new Language Policy is accepted by Council in 2016, the earliest possible date for implementation would be January 2017.


Related articles:

http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=6567 (26 November 2015)
http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=6540 (28 October 2015)
http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=6521 (20 October 2015)
http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=6469 (30 August 2015)
http://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item?news=6444 (25 August 2015)

 

 

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept