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07 May 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Charl Devenish
Noko Masalesa
Noko Masalesa, Director of Protection Services, in conversation with students and stakeholders to plan a safe way forward.

Safety and security are human rights that constitute social justice. At the centre of the agenda at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Social Justice Week held on the Bloemfontein Campus from 17-22 April 2019 were discussions about off-campus safety. Stakeholders agreed on an upgrade to security measures in order to ensure the success and wellbeing of the student population.

A call to students

Prof John Mubangizi, Dean of the Faculty of Law, in his capacity as representative of the UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, expressed his view on institutions of higher learning no longer functioning as ivory towers. “For any initiative to succeed, collaboration is necessary between key roleplayers,” he said.

He aptly pointed out that: “We cannot underscore the importance of safety and security, not only for the university but also for the communities around us. What the university does benefits the community and vice versa. I pledge the university’s commitment to play a leading part to ensure that the collaboration works,” said Prof Mubangizi.

Beefing up security: Who is involved?

In view of the collaborative effort Prof Mubangizi alluded to, the engagement was twofold. First was the roundtable discussion facilitated by Protection Services which then escalated into a public dialogue where students had the opportunity to interact with external delegates.

The South African Police Services, Community Police Forum, Private Security, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Provincial Commissioner, and Deputy Minister of Police were well represented in this critical conversation. Internally, members of Protection Services, Housing and Residence Affairs, Student Affairs, Institute for Social Justice and Reconciliation, Student Representative Council, and the Department of Criminology heard the plight of off-campus safety faced by students.

Changes in the horizon

The discussions culminated with recommendations which will see the future of student safety take a different direction. According to Skhululekile Luwaca, former SRC president, these include “the municipality’s commitment to immediately address issues such as street lights and enforcing by-laws, ensuring an integrated accreditation system, and drafting a policy for off-campus accommodation, running more crime awareness campaigns, and giving police patrols more visibility.”

In addition to resolving to set up a student safety forum with all the stakeholders, the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality has invited the UFS to join Reclaim the City – a safety forum where practical solutions to crime are devised and implemented on a weekly basis.


News Archive

All you need to know about UFS December graduations
2017-11-14

 Description: 2017 Graduation information 2 Tags: 2017 Graduation information 2

Qualifications up to honours degrees in all faculties, as well as the Business School,
Educational qualifications in Open Distance Learning, and master’s and doctoral
degrees will be conferred during the End-of-year Graduation Ceremonies of the
University of the Free State.
Photo: Johan Roux


The End-of-year Graduation Ceremonies at the University of the Free State (UFS) are taking place in December, and the Kovsie community is looking forward to the annual celebrations. To access information about it, visit the dedicated graduation home page.

The Bloemfontein Campus will welcome graduates, their parents, friends, and relatives for the festivities, which promises to be yet another prestigious occasion. The ceremonies are taking place on 6 and 7 December 2017 in the Callie Human Centre. 

The degrees to be conferred include all qualifications up to honours degrees in the Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences (including the Business School), Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Education, Law, the Humanities, Theology and Religion, Health Sciences, and Educational qualifications in Open Distance Learning (South Campus). Master’s and doctoral degrees in all faculties will also be conferred.

For information about the ceremonies, visit the graduation home page.

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