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05 January 2018 Photo Elrieka van Dalen
UFS congratulates Free State on matric results
With projects like the Internet Broadcast Project and the Schools Partnership Project, the UFS helps to improve education at schools in the Free State.

The University of the Free State (UFS) congratulates the Free State and its learners on their outstanding performance in the 2017 matric results. The university, which also plays a role in promoting excellence at school level, is proud of the Free State’s achievement as the best-performing province in the country with an 86,1% pass rate, excluding progressed learners.

“On behalf of the executive management, staff, and students of the UFS, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the Free State MEC of Education and his executive team in the Department of Education in the Free State, on being the top-achieving province in South Africa for the second consecutive year," said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, in a message sent to Mr Tate Makgoe, MEC of Education in the Free State Province.

He further said, "The UFS is proud to be associated with the Department of Education and salutes them for the many initiatives in schools across the province, which contributed to this year’s outstanding matric results. Some of these projects include those presented in conjunction with the university’s South Campus, such as the Internet Broadcast Project (IBP), the Schools Partnership Project (SPP), and training programmes for school principals."

Internet Broadcast Project

The UFS IDEAS Lab in the Department of Open and Distance Learning on the UFS South Campus is supporting learners in 89 schools through the IBP. Daily, the IBP transmits lessons to 83 schools spread across five districts in the Free State for learners in Grades 8 to 12. Learners also have electronic access to this material, which is presented for more than 15 school subjects. The project is a collaboration between the university and the Free State Department of Education. It includes support for subjects such as Mathematics, Physical Science, Life Science, Economics, Accounting, and Geography.

Schools Partnership Project

The SPP focuses on teachers in order to have a more sustainable impact, with 69 schools in the Free State and Eastern Cape benefiting from it. It makes use of a total of 30 mentors who assist teachers and headmasters with school management, Mathematics, Physical Science, Accounting, and English as language of learning. Mentors visit schools and share knowledge, extra material, and technology to improve the standard of teaching. Matric results and Bachelor’s pass rates have improved dramatically in these schools.

Another aspect is the identification of learners with potential to go to university (so-called first-generation students). They are assisted through extra classes and in applying for tertiary education and bursaries. Many of them currently study at the UFS, and also receive mentorship here.

News Archive

There’s more to media freedom than the Secrecy Bill
2012-05-04

4 May 2012

 “Media freedom is a universal human right. It cannot be abolished, but it should be managed.” The freedom of the media is protected by numerous formal documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the South African Constitution, and is commemorated annually with the celebration of World Press Freedom Day.

 “As long as those in power have something to hide, media freedom will be under threat. This is a war that takes place on many fronts,” says Ms Willemien Marais, a journalism lecturer at the Department of Communication Science at the University of the Free State (UFS).

“On the one hand we have to take a stand against institutional threats such as the proposed Protection of State Information Bill. This is diametrically opposed to everything that media freedom and freedom of expression encapsulates.

“But on the other hand we also need to educate and transform our society. It is not only up to journalists to defend media freedom. Newspaper reports on the public hearings on this Bill earlier this year proved that ignorance concerning media freedom is a big threat. The lack of resistance against the Secrecy Bill from the general population clearly illustrates that people aren’t aware of what they are about to lose.”

 Ms Marais says the rise of social media and the accompanying awareness of individual freedom of expression have paved the way for more people to exercise this right. “The role of social media in the Arab Spring has been highlighted numerous times. The power of social media is undeniable – but alas, so is the lack of access to especially social media. We can only increase media literacy if we increase people’s access to the media – new and traditional.”

A high level of media literacy is also vital following last month’s recommendation by the Press Freedom Commission of a system of independent co-regulation for South Africa’s print media. This system proposes replacing government regulation with a panel consisting of representatives from the print industry as well as members of the general public. “It is abundantly clear that this system can only work if those members of the general public are media literate and understand the role of media freedom in protecting democracy.”

“The media is not a sentient being – it consists of and is run by people, and human beings are fallible. Protecting media freedom does not only mean fighting institutional threats. It also means increasing media literacy by educating people. And it means owning up to your mistakes, and correcting it.” 

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