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19 March 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Thokozile Thulo
Thokozile Thulo says the UFS has changed its focus in supporting students with disabilities.

The Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) has recently opened a permanent office on the Qwaqwa Campus The centre aims to ensure that the University of the Free State increasingly becomes a universally accessible higher-education institution which embraces students with various disabilities.

Thokozile Thulo, CUADS Assistant Officer at Qwaqwa said: “Our focus has changed from ‘special’ accommodation for individuals to the creation of a learning environment that is welcoming and empowering to all students. Integrated learning and education methodologies and processes are being researched and developed to create more awareness among lecturing staff. This incorporates universal design, faculty instruction and curricula.” 

The CUADS office assists students to gain access to study courses, learning materials, various buildings and residences, computer facilities and specialised exams and tests. For visually-impaired students, study material and textbooks in Braille, audio, e-text or enlarged format are provided. 

The office also supports students with various psychosocial and chronic conditions such as epilepsy and panic disorder, as well as learning difficulties such as dyslexia and hyperactivity. “In addition, we support students with special arrangements such as extra time for tests and exams,” said Thokozile.



News Archive

Researchers urged to re-emphasise regeneration of grassroots
2013-10-23

23 October 2013

Institutions of higher learning have a critical role to play in the promotion and protection of indigenous knowledge systems. This is according to Dr Mogomme Masoga, UFS alumnus and Senior Researcher with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

Dr Masoga was addressing the 6th annual Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Symposium at the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus.

“The time has come for local communities rich with knowledge to be taken seriously by the researchers doing their work in those respective communities,” argued Dr Masoga.

“Power relations between the researcher and the communities involved in the research process should be clarified. The same applies to the ownership and control of knowledge generated and documented in a community.

“There is an increasing need for democratic and participatory development in our communities. This can be achieved by giving primacy to the interests, values and aspirations of the people at large. There must be a radical move from prevailing paradigm of development that suffers from relying on coercion and authoritarianism. There is a need to associate development with social needs. This will give validity and integrity to the local communities, thereby giving confidence to the leaders and their constituencies.”

Dr Masoga said that the time has come for African universities in particular to “de-emphasise factors that monopolise attention today. Factors like debt crisis, commodity prices and foreign investment, among others, must be replaced by emphasis on the regeneration of the grassroots. Many African universities and research institutions have not lived up to their responsibilities as guiding lights to the continent. However, all is not lost.

“The current global race for knowledge works against so-called developing countries, especially in Africa. There is a far greater need to have a code of ethics drawn up for researchers engaging with local communities, to ensure the promotion and protection of indigenous knowledge systems.”

Meanwhile, a cross-section of papers were also delivered during the symposium. These ranged from Moshoeshoe’s lessons in dealing with poverty alleviation as presented by Dr Samuel Mensah, Department of Economics, to indigenous grasses of Qwaqwa by Prof Rodney Moffett, Department of Plant Sciences. Also presenting lectures were Phephani Gumbi, African Languages; Tshele Moloi, School of Mathematics; Natural Sciences and Technology Education and Dr Tom Ashafa (Plant Sciences).

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