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29 June 2018 Photo Stephen Collett
Learners at youth dialogue encouraged to know their human rights
learners presented their insights on human rights issues.

Youth Day was celebrated on 16 June 2018, and as part of the celebrations, the Free State Department of Education, the Free State Centre for Human Rights, and the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) presented a learner dialogue for 160 Representative Council of Learners from Wepener, Dewetsdorp, Ladybrand, Thaba Nchu, Botshabelo and Bloemfontein to address the challenges they face at their schools and in the country at large. The dialogue took place on 19 June 2018 at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. 

The Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof John Mubangizi, on welcoming the learners, teachers and representatives of the Department of Education and other guests said: “It is a great honour to have future leaders here, and possible future students of the UFS. I invite you to come and study in the Faculty of Law and look forward to welcoming some of you in the near future.”

Youth encouraged to participate positively
The focus of the dialogue was on children’s rights, their needs and vulnerabilities, and their right to participate in all matters that concern them. It was also a platform for the learners to express what they saw as important challenges, how they are affected, and possible solutions. The Director of the Free State Centre for Human Rights, Prof Danie Brand, led an interactive session with learners, discussing basic human rights as contained in the South African Constitution.
 
“Human rights are what you are born with and do not need to be negotiated. These are rights such as the right to housing, food, education and healthcare,” he said. 

Outcomes of dialogue could influence policy decisions
The one-day dialogue session had learners from different schools interacting with each other. They presented their final deliberations to the officials present, including the District Director of the Department of Education, Mr December Moloi, Prof Brand, Prof Mubangizi, senior lecturer in Public Law at UFS, Dr Mariette Reyneke, and others. Mr Moloi encouraged learners to continue to set a good example to their peers amid challenges they faced at schools, such as gangsterism. “The ideas you share today are important to the department, because these will help create solutions to some of the problems we face in schools and could inform future education policy formation,” he said.

The event was sponsored by Old Mutual which gave the learners a presentation on life skills, such as financial management and budgeting, to encourage them to manage their money in a responsible way as future leaders, and to support their parents’ efforts at providing for them and their education. 

News Archive

SRC elections: A first for UFS main campus
2005-08-14

Students on the main campus of the of the University of the Free State (UFS) will this week for the first time vote for the Student Representative Council (SRC) using two voting systems: proportional representation (PR) and first-past-the-post. 

According to the Vice-Rector, Student Affairs, Dr Ezekiel Moraka, this year’s elections are a milestone for the UFS as it will be the first time that the main campus SRC will be elected according to the amended SRC constitution, which was approved by the UFS Council in June 2005.

“It is also a major breakthrough for student governance and transformation of the UFS main campus and constitutes a legitimate basis for the democratic participation of all students at the UFS main campus in the governance of the university,” said Dr Moraka.

The amended constitution of the main campus SRC determines that nine of the 18 SRC members must be elected by means of proportional representation and nine on the basis of an individual, first-past-the-post election.
 
According to Dr Moraka, the introduction of the proportional representation system follows earlier calls by some student formations, notably Sasco and the ANC Youth League, for such a system to be introduced at the UFS main campus in Bloemfontein.

The new main campus SRC constitution is the result of consensus reached during a lengthy negotiation process involving diverse student formations such as Sasco, the ANC Youth League, the Young Communist League, the ACDP, HEREXVII, KovsieAlliance, as well as the democratically elected SRC members of the main campus.

“Independent persons such as Mr Jack Klaas and Mr Kobus van Loggerenberg, a former SRC President, facilitated the negotiation process,” said Dr Moraka.

Students on the main campus in Bloemfontein will vote for a new SRC on Monday 15 August 2005.

SRC elections will also take place on the other two campuses of the UFS, which have their own SRC structures.

Students on the UFS-Vista campus in Bloemfontein will vote for a new SRC on Monday 15 August 2005 and Tuesday 16 August 2005.

At the Qwaqwa campus of the UFS, students will vote for a new SRC on Friday 26 August 2005.

The election processes on all three campuses will be closely monitored by independent electoral bodies. 

After the three campuses have elected their respective SRCs a central SRC will be constituted.  The central SRC will have 12 members made up of delegates of the three campus SRCs, including the presidents of these three SRCs. The main campus will have five representatives, the Qwaqwa campus will have four representatives and the Vista campus will have three representatives.

Main campus voting schedule:
Monday 15 August 2005 from 07:00-21:00.  Ten voting stations will be set up across the campus.  The results will be announced on Tuesday 16 August 2005.

Vista campus voting schedule:
Monday 15 August 2005 and Tuesday 16 August 2005 from 09:00-18:00 in the administration building.  The results will be announced on Wednesday 17 August 2005.
 
Qwaqwa campus voting schedule:
Friday 26 August 2005 from 09:00-18:00 in the Senate Hall.  If there is no objection to the final results, it will be announced on the same day.


Media release

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel:  (051) 401-2584
   Cell:  083 645 2454
   E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

14 August 2005
 

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