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UFS students attain a 94.7% pass rate in challenging SAICA exam

23 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba

UFS Accountancy students — The UFS School of Accountancy is fast becoming one of the best in the country.

Becoming a Chartered Accountant (SA) entails successfully completing the rigorous education and training requirements set by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). As part of these requirements, all prospective CAs are required to write SAICA’s challenging Initial Test of Competence (ITC). A total of 83 graduates from the University of the Free State (UFS) passed the 2019 ITC examinations, making the Kovsie community and School of Accountancy proud.

Prof Frans Prinsloo, the Director at the UFS School of Accountancy, applauded the successful graduates – of whom 39 are African, five coloured, one Indian, and 38 white. “More than 55% of our graduates who wrote the exam are black (African, coloured and Indian), demonstrating that our emphasis on building the pipeline of under-represented prospective Chartered Accountants (SA) is paying off in terms of both racial and gender inclusion.”

Rising above the ultimate test
SAICA released the results of the June 2019 ITC examination on Friday 16 August 2019. The ITC examination is the first of two professional examinations required for qualification as a Chartered Accountant (SA), and is written shortly after completion of formal university studies. There are two sittings of this examination annually, in January and June.

Compared to the national average pass rate of 75.4% for the 2019 ITC examinations, UFS BAcc Honours and Postgraduate Diploma in Chartered Accountancy graduates delivered a superior performance. The 94.7% pass show that our graduates are a force to be reckoned with.

Upping standards
More than 10 of the Thuthuka Bursary Programme graduates of 2018 who wrote the 2019 ITC examinations, passed, which translates into a 92% pass for this group. Such an achievement also confirms the success of the bursary programme ‘wraparound support’ interventions, by delivering results well in excess of the national average. These interventions also extend to the development of professional skills essential for the corporate world – thereby ensuring that these graduates are not only technically strong, but ‘work-ready’.

Best in the business of excellence
“These results place the UFS School of Accountancy amongst the best in the country in terms of Chartered Accountancy education, and is testament to the hard work of the academic staff and the quality of our CA programme,” says Prof Prinsloo.

News Archive

UFS hosts sign language workshop to educate parents

2017-05-22

Back row; from left; John Keitsemore from
Bartimea School for the Deaf; Philip Cook,
the headmaster at De la Bat School for the
Deaf in Worcester; Jeannie Cook, De la Bat School
for the Deaf; front, from left; Marisa Vermeulen, mother
of two deaf children and teacher at Bartimea
School for the Deaf in Thaba Nchu; Marianne Kühn,
audiologist, and Susan Lombaard, acting Head of the
Department of South African Sign Language.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

“Ninety percent of deaf children are born into hearing families. When parents first receive the news, they are shocked, angry and confused,” says Susan Lombaard, Acting head of the Department of South African Sign Language at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The department hosted a workshop, “Early intervention options for the child with a hearing loss”, on Friday 12 May 2017 on the Bloemfontein Campus. “It is the first time a sign language workshop of this kind was hosted by the Department of South African Sign Language at the UFS,” says Lombaard, who facilitated the workshop. They hope to make it an annual event.

Parents of deaf children do not always know how they will communicate with their children or where the child must attend school. The workshop aimed to provide parents with the necessary information on different communication options and also touched on school placement.

Support group for parents established
A support group for parents was also established, the first of its kind in the province. It will provide much-needed support, information and guidance for parents of deaf children.

Some of the speakers at the workshop included Anri Esterhuizen, an audiologist; Marianne Kühn from the Carel du Toit Centre, Marisa Vermeulen, who is a mother of two deaf children, and Phillip Cook, the headmaster at De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester, in the Western Cape. Jeannie Cook, also a presenter, provided information on sign language acquisition of the small deaf child, which is done through creative play.

Professionals have responsibility
South African Sign Language is a language in its own right and is not international. “Sign language is a visual language with its own grammar and syntax different from spoken language,” Lombaard said.

There has been much controversy surrounding teaching deaf children to speak and teaching them to sign. “We as professionals have the responsibility to provide information on all options. This is to help the parent make informed decisions about communication and school placement.”

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