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Kovsies Care
Nelson Mandela once said: “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.”
To thrive in the future, employees need a skill set and mindset that constantly adapts to the fast rate of change. In line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the University of the Free State (UFS) is the first higher education institution to introduce online adult learning.

Digitised learning

Eva Stinani is one of 17 staff members who is currently enrolled for the Adult-Based Education and Training (ABET) Programme through the Department of Human Resources (HR). For Stinani, the programme is gearing her up for better career prospects. “I have come to realise that obtaining a school qualification is important as this will enable me to improve my performance in my work.”

A further 29 staff members are enrolled for the Amended Senior Certificate (ASC). Since its introduction at UFS late last year, the most popular subject stream in the certificate is Business Studies. According to Juanita Burjins, Head: Leadership & Development Division (HR), this “prepares learners to think like business and management-oriented individuals”.

All lessons are conducted online in a computer lab on the Bloemfontein Campus. Plans are under way to roll out these programmes to the South and Qwaqwa campuses. The Leadership and Development Division helps learners to register with the Independent Exam Board (IEB) and uMalusi.

Enhancing livelihoods

The Integrated Transformation Plan (ITP) speaks to a staff culture punctuated with high performance and impartiality across the board. According to the ITP, “the future will be “one of excellence and diversity”.

Burjins’s team envisions “maximising the potential of the staff through the acquisition of knowledge and skills, therefore encouraging them to work productively and competitively in order to achieve an improving quality of life”.

Building bridges and breaking barriers

The online adult learning programme provides staff members with the opportunity to enter higher education institutions and become gainfully employed in the world of work.

Nelson Mandela once said: “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.” Echoing this sentiment, Kovsies is making strides towards developing the country, one citizen at a time.


News Archive

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu visiting the UFS once again
2012-07-13

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
13 July 2012

The University of the Free State (UFS) will once again be honoured by the presence of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on Wednesday 18 July 2012.

Dr Tutu will be speaking at our Bloemfontein Campus for the first session of a two-day “In Conversation With …”event that is part of the Global Leadership Summit currently being held on the campus.

This sessions starts at 09:30 at the Centenary Complex. The media is invited to attend this session.

Dr Tutu will be in dialogue with Prof. Mark Solms, Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Cape Town and owner of the Solms-Delta Wine Estate in Franschhoek.

The theme for this conversation, facilitated by Prof. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, will be “Living Reconciliation: Winds of Change in Franschhoek and Transformation at Solms-Delta Wine Estate”. This is based on the transformation introduced by Solms on his farm in the Franschhoek Valley.

Prof. Gobodo-Madikizela is a Senior Research Professor on trauma, forgiveness and reconciliation at the UFS.

As owner of Solms-Delta Wine Estate in Franschhoek, Prof. Solms led an initiative to transform the lives of farm workers on the estate through the Wijn de Caab Trust. This initiative was extended to empower the wider community of farm dwellers when Prof. Solms co-founded the Delta Trust and the Franschhoek Valley Transformation Charter. This organisation aims to break trans-generational cycles of social division and inequality in the valley.

The dialogue with Dr Tutu will highlight the significance of these initiatives as examples of deepening the link between socially responsive scholarship, commitment to social justice and responsible citizenship in contemporary South Africa.

Last year, the UFS awarded Dr Tutu an honorary doctorate in Theology, marking a milestone in the history of the university.

At 12:30, Dr Tutu will visit the Red Square in front of the UFS Main Building, where he will join in the fundraising festivities for the university’s official Nelson Mandela Day event and deliver a short address.

Schools in the vicinity, UFS staff and students and the public are invited to take part in the R5 coin laying ceremony in front of the Main Building.

The money collected at this event will be used to benefit the No Student Hungry (NSH) campaign as well as Bloemfontein Child Welfare.
 

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