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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

Council votes on appointment of senior staff
2004-11-18

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) today voted on the filling of three senior vacancies, including one post at Dean level and two at the level of Vice-Dean.

The Council voted as follows:

Dr Natie Luyt will be offered the post of Dean: Student Affairs Prof Engela Pretorius will be offered the post of Vice-Dean: Faculty of Humanities Dr Choice Makhetha will be offered the post of Vice-Dean: Student Affairs

“There are special challenges for the UFS in the short and medium term regarding transformation of our residences, and a certain combination of management qualities and skills is desirable. As a result of the diversity of the UFS’s student community it is therefore important to us to follow a team approach to deal with the challenges. With the combination of Drs Luyt and Makhetha, I believe we will be able to manage student affairs effectively and skillfully,” says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

“It is wonderful that we are able to celebrate the outcome of this process that has brought forward such excellent candidates who reflect our country’s diversity. It shows that we can achieve the goals of quality and diversity at the same time,” says Prof Fourie.

Prof Pretorius obtained all her qualifications (BA, BA (Hons) (cum laude), MA (cum laude) and D Phil) from the UFS, except for the Certificate in Gender Policy Management (cum laude) which she obtained in 2000 from WITS. She joined the Department of Sociology at UFS in 1980 and has headed the Department since 2001. She acted as Vice-Dean: Faculty of Humanities since July 2004. She has some thirty publications to her credit, published both nationally and internationally and has delivered 20 national and international papers. She is a member of the South African Sociological Association and is a member of the Council of the association and of the Editorial Board of Society in Transition, the society’s journal. She is also a member of the South African Academy for Science and Art and the Federation of African Women Educationalists in South Africa (FAWESA). Project involvement includes the Australian Women’s Executive Development Programme and the project Executive Development of Senior Women in South African Higher Education Institutions. She is also an NRF panelist.

Dr Luyt obtained his qualifications (BA, BA (Hons) (cum laude), MA (cum laude) and D Phil) at the UFS and started his career at the same institution in 1980 as lecturer in Political Science. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1983 and appointed as Director: Student Affairs in 1997. He has been acting as Dean: Student Affairs since 2003. Dr Luyt completed several work-related training courses, among others a course in ethnic and multiculturality at the Swiss Institute for Federalism and a course in conflict management at the South Tyrolean Economic and Social Institute.

Dr Makheta also obtained all her qualifications (BA, BA (Hons), MA in Political Science and Ph D in Political Science) at the UFS and started working as a student assistant in Political Science at the same institution in 1999. She was promoted to junior assistant in 2000, coordinator and facilitator of Political Science in 2001, assistant/acting Director: Student Affairs in 2001 and acting Director: Student Affairs in 2003. Dr Makhetha is currently a Senior Political Analyst at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The UFS Council also approved the promotion of nine professors to the rank of senior professor. They are Proff Louise Cilliers (Department English and Classical Languages), Dap Louw (Department of Psychology), Philip Nel (Department Afro-Asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice), Dirk van den Berg (Department of History of Art and Visual Culture Studies) Dingie van Rensburg (Director: Centre for Health Systems Research and Develoment), Andries Raath (Department of Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law), James du Preez (Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology), Johan Grobbelaar (Department of Plant Sciences) and Louis Scott (Department of Plant Sciences).

This is the first group ever of senior professors at the UFS. The post level was created to provide better career and earnings opportunities for high quality academics and to increase the attractiveness of an academic career to young people.

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

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