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Laptop read more
At the handover were, from the left: Dikgapane Makhetha, Officer in the Department of Community Engagement; Zwelinjani Mbatha; Ntsiwoa Andries (both teachers at Botlehadi); and Legopheng Maphile, Assistant Director: Library Marketing and Community Engagement at UFS LIS.
School libraries are an important resource for young minds. International research has shown that school libraries are beneficial to the academic development and progress of learners. A fully stocked and functional library within a school can improve learner performance and reading abilities by up to 8%. 

A seemingly simple gift of a laptop will therefore go a long way in ensuring that Botlehadi Primary School in Turflaagte has a functional library that will be a reading haven for all its learners.

Inspiring change

The laptop was a donation to the school by the University of the Free State Library and Information Services (UFS LIS) and the Department of Community Engagement. Before the handover on 26 November, it was pre-loaded with software that would allow the school to create an inventory of all books in its library, track their books, and consolidate their learning resources in one central place, like any fully-fledged library. 

Botlehadi was one of the schools that benefited from the Mandela Day project in July, when the two divisions gave the school’s library a much-needed revamp. A laptop was promised, and the school’s representatives were all smiles when they finally held it in their hands. 

Botlehadi teacher, Ntsiwoa Andries, said the school was beyond grateful for the laptop and the stability it would bring to their library. With their learner count numbering 1 800, Andries said keeping track of their books had become quite a daunting task. 

“The books are there, but we have a lacking library system. We don’t even have a librarian to manage the library for us. This laptop will help us to store our books and know which books we have, and which ones have been taken out by learners. It was easy to lose books because we had no effective system.”

Promoting a culture of reading

Andries said the school is a leader in its community by encouraging a culture of reading for both learners and their parents.

“We have books for all ages and even invite the parents to make use of the library facilities. It feels good to know that we will be able to give our community better access to books, because most of them cannot afford to buy books. They will finally know how it feels to have a wide variety of books to choose from.”

As a librarian, Postgraduate Research Librarian, Carmel Nel, said she knows the difference a small school-library system can make for a school like Botlehadi.

“When we first visited the school in July, we felt their strong need for a laptop in order to track their books. After approaching the Bloemfontein Rotary Club for help, we were finally able to fulfil our promise to the school. The laptop’s management software will allow them to effectively plan and distribute their resources and manage book circulation.”

Legopheng Maphile, Assistant Director: Library Marketing and Community Engagement at UFS LIS, said: “We are just planting a seed now, but there’s a lot of watering that needs to be done. We promised to donate this laptop before we even had it, and today we’re excited to be making an impact.”

News Archive

Ensure your place at the UFS
2010-10-27

The University of the Free State (UFS) appeals to all prospective South African students who want to come and study at the UFS in 2011 to submit their applications no later than Tuesday, 30 November 2010.

The UFS is aware of the fact that learners will not have received their final Grade 12 results by Tuesday, 30 November 2010; therefore provisional admission will be granted based on learners’ most recent Grade 12 results. Final admission will take place upon receipt of the final Grade 12 results, which will be available early in January 2011.

Prospective students can obtain application forms for admission at the following places:

  1. The UFS’s web site at www.ufs.ac.za,
  2. The Information Office (Unit for Prospective Students) at the Thakaneng Bridge on the UFS’s Main Campus in Bloemfontein,
  3. You may also send an e-mail to info@ufs.ac.za or
  4. Phone 051 401 3000 and the necessary forms will be posted to you.

Senior undergraduate students (that is all students who were registered up to and during 2010 at the UFS) as well as post-graduate students, must self-register electronically on-line from Monday, 1 November 2010 until Tuesday, 4 January 2011. This includes master’s and doctoral students.

In order to encourage senior students to register online, the UFS offers 20 laptops as incentives for the senior students who successfully register online from 1 November 2010. These laptops will be handed over to the winners after the registration process in 2011.

Registration of first-year students:

The Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, will welcome first-year students on Friday, 14 January and Saturday, 15 January 2011, respectively, in the Callie Human Centre. The Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, the Humanities and Education will be welcomed on 14 January 2011 and the students of the Faculties of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Law and Theology shall be welcomed on 15 January 2011. The compulsory orientation programme for new first-years will also then commence.

From 17 to 21 January 2011 first-year students will receive academic advice at the Callie Human Centre, whereafter they will be referred for self-registration. These processes will take place according to the set timetable. This timetable is available in the Kovsie Guide that will be sent to learners as soon as we have received their applications, as well as on the web site of the UFS at www.ufs.ac.za/register2011.

First-year students’ fees must be paid prior to arrival on 14 and 15 January 2011.

Registration of senior students:

Senior students who experience problems with the electronic on-line self-registration process have the opportunity to resolve problems within a programme on campus from Wednesday, 5 January until Wednesday, 12 January 2011. This programme will be sent out to students and is also available at www.ufs.ac.za/register2011. The specific scheduled day for senior students to resolve problems is the last and only day to resolve the problem.

Senior students can also contact 051 401 9111 for more information in this regard.

Students may register for prescribed modules for 2011, even though the November 2010 examination results are not yet available. Changes resulting from examination results that are made available later can be done up to and including 28 January 2011.

In terms of applications for senior students, only students who have interrupted a calendar year of study need to re-apply for admission.

Registration of students at the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus:

Senior and first-year students of the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus register from Wednesday, 12 January until Friday, 28 January 2011 in the Nelson Mandela Hall on this campus.

Registration of students at the UFS South Campus:

First-year students from the UFS’s South Campus in the University Preparation Programme and the Extended Programme (only Natural and Agricultural Sciences) register from Monday, 24 January till Friday, 28 January 2011 in the Arena Hall on the South Campus.

Students who have successfully completed the University Preparation Programme register with the first-year students on the UFS Main Campus on Friday, 14 and Saturday, 15 January 2011 – according to faculties (cf. paragraph 6).

Lectures for all students shall commence on Monday, 24 January 2011.

MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
26 October 2010

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