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13 May 2019 | Story Mamosa Makaya

The autumn graduations at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 2019 highlighted the success of public private partnerships between big business and academic institutions in tackling the lingering challenge of financial support of students in institutions of higher learning. With the advent of #feesmustfall protests in recent years, a call to action for student financial support was made, not only by university students, but by civil society as well. The response was a joining of efforts between UFS and Absa. The bank came on board as a sponsor and has provided more than R28 million in scholarships at UFS between 2016 and 2018.

Institutional advancement key facilitator

The office of Institutional Advancement (IA) at UFS was a key roleplayer in securing this funding from Absa, by facilitating the process of acquiring the funding, managing the relationship with Absa and the UFS Student Aid office. IA facilitated the process of identifying and allocating student funding, signing of bursary contracts, and stakeholder liaison.

Student success and economic growth

The Absa Scholarship Programme was conceptualised as a demonstration of the company’s commitment to tackling social change and driving economic growth. Absa partnered with various other universities in the country to ensure academically excellent and financially constrained students have a chance to complete their undergraduate degrees. Since 2016, sponsored UFS students were covered for tuition fees, accommodation, text books and meals, enabling them to focus on their studies, and to acquire their qualifications in record time, ready to enter the world of work. 

The scholarship is reviewed annually with the following criteria; studying towards a degree in commerce, the humanities, engineering, science and technology, while maintaining an academic average of 55% or higher, and with a combined household income of less than R1million per annum.

Achievements of the programme

Since 2016, 723 UFS students were financially supported, with 2018 being the last year of the new intake. The current cohort is expected to complete their undergraduate studies by 2020 when the programme ends. To date more than 101 UFS students have obtained their qualifications and more will graduate later this year. Partnerships between academia, big business and other private sponsors are one of the great building blocks of our society, and continue to play a significant role its development.

News Archive

Well-established root system important for sustainable production in semi-arid grasslands
2015-02-24

Plot layout where production and root studies were done
Photo: Supplied

The importance of a well-established root system for sustainable production in the semi-arid grasslands cannot be over-emphasised.

A study of Prof Hennie Snyman from the Department of Animal and Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the University of the Free State is of the few studies in which soil-water instead of rainfall has been used to estimate above- and below-ground production of semi-arid grasslands. “In the past, plant ecological studies have concentrated largely on above-ground parts of the grassland ecosystem with less emphasis on root growth. This study is, therefore, one of the few done on root dynamics in drier areas,” said Prof Snyman.

The longevity of grass seeds in the soil seed bank is another aspect that is being investigated at present. This information could provide guidelines in grassland restoration.

“Understanding changes in the hydrological characteristics of grassland ecosystems with degradation is essential when making grassland management decisions in arid and semi-arid areas to ensure sustainable animal production. The impact of grassland degradation on productivity, root production, root/shoot ratios, and water-use efficiency has been quantified for the semi-arid grasslands over the last 35 years. Because of the great impact of sustainable management guidelines on land users, this study will be continuing for many years,” said Prof Snyman.

Water-use efficiency (WUE) is defined as the quantity of above- and/or below-ground plant produced over a given period of time per unit of water evapotranspired. Sampling is done from grassland artificially maintained in three different grassland conditions: good, moderate, and poor.

As much as 86, 89 and 94% of the roots for grasslands in good, moderate and poor conditions respectively occur at a depth of less than 300 mm. Root mass is strongly seasonal with the most active growth taking place during March and April. Root mass appears to be greater than above-ground production for these semi-arid areas, with an increase in roots in relation to above-ground production with grassland degradation. The mean monthly root/shoot ratios for grasslands in good, moderate, and poor conditions are 1.16, 1.11, and 1.37 respectively. Grassland degradation lowered above- and below-ground plant production significantly as well as water-use efficiency. The mean WUE (root production included) was 4.79, 3.54 and 2.47 kg ha -1 mm -1 for grasslands in good, moderate, and poor conditions respectively.

These water-use efficiency observations are among the few that also include root production in their calculations.

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