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“A mind that is learning is a free mind and freedom demands the responsibility of learning” – J. Krishnamurti. What is the essence of education in our modern society amid the emerging, unprecedented, present-day circumstances? On 27 November 2020, third-year students from the University of the Free State (UFS) not only sought to inspire the youth in Kestell and bring them messages of hope, but also actively engaged them on how to be equipped with the necessary skills that would help them surf through the rapidly advancing world economics and the changing labour-market demands.
The collaboration with other expert stakeholders created a platform for significant conversation about alternative skills training that is designed to successfully address the current economic needs, thus enabling education to thrive and serve the intended purpose, which would ultimately manifest in effective transformation within communities. The UFS Qwaqwa Campus Community Engagement office coordinated the teamwork, comprising the Free State Department of Social Development, Maluti TVET College, the Free State School of Nursing, AGAPE Foundation for Community Development, Japie Lepele Foundation, the Riverside Finishing School, and Advance Academy.
TVET education allows students to progress in fields that suit them best and at the same time acquire skills needed for the future world of work. Information Technology (IT) students and staff members shared encouraging testimonies of their education experience and employment. The academy presented their finishing school programme to encourage learners to complete their secondary education even after they have suffered some interruptions. Although there are currently many challenges facing education in our semi-rural areas – such as Kestell – that result in lack of access to education and insufficient resources, civil partnerships like these are supporting and enabling communities in their quest to find their own solutions.
African values important for transformation, says deputy minister
2007-11-06
The Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Enver Surty, says real transformation in education cannot take place if African values and belief systems are not put at the centre of educational practices.
Mr Surty was speaking last night at the launch of the Centre for Africa Studies at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein.
According to the Deputy Minister of Education, the launch of the Centre for Africa Studies at the University of the Free State shows a strong commitment by the university to transformation.
“It shows the readiness on the part of the institution to create and consolidate space for African epistemologies as a way of reclaiming our African identity”, Mr Surty said.
He said the launch provided all stakeholders with a golden opportunity to influence curriculum development in schools so that it better reflects the understanding and the desire to learn more about Africa. He said this cannot happen without a sound knowledge produced by Africans, which can then be shared with the rest of humanity.
“It is no longer tenable that African scholars should take a back seat and merely consume, often uncritically, knowledge systems that have been produced and sifted through other minds. Similarly, our intellectual pursuits cannot take place in isolation. Indeed our fountains of knowledge could only be deepened with more exposure to, and critical engagement with other systems of knowledge across the world”, he said.
According to the Director of the Africa Studies Programme at the UFS, Prof Phillip Nel, the Centre for Africa Studies will focus on the issues and challenges of Africa and make the context of Africa a part of the UFS’s academic activities in a sustained and innovative way.
The centre will closely co-operate and liaise with prominent African initiatives and structures like the African Union, Pan-African Parliament, Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and many others.
Media Release
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Tel: 051 401 2828
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E-mail: radebemt.stg@mail.ufs.ac.za