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UFS partners with local radio stations to address community issues

08 December 2020 | Story Dikgapane Makhetha | Photo Supplied

In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Directorate: Community Engagement (CE) has initiated an innovative platform on which students can continue to engage with university community partners, and at the same time be assessed for their service-learning and community engagement projects.

The E-Engagement approach also meets the University of the Free State’s (UFS) strategic mandate to be a caring, responsive, and engaged university. Coordinated by the UFS CE office, academic staff and students are scheduled to engage with the community partners through radio broadcasts and virtual mode platforms. Informative content that has been researched, prepared, and presented by students in a pre-recorded format, will address significant issues brought about by the surge of COVID-19, creating a breeding ground for some of the societal ills, such as gender-based violence (GBV).

In order to establish sustainable relationships with community radio stations, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with two local community radio stations was signed on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 10 October 2020. Prof Puleng LenkaBula, the Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, CE Director, participated in the commitment to formalise the relationship between the UFS and the two radio stations, Mosupatsela FM and Motheo FM.

Master’s students from the Department of Psychology have produced and pre-recorded podcasts on community psychology. Their topics covered grief and self-compassion. The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics presented topics on a healthy lifestyle and diet. Fourth-year students from the School of Nursing have engaged new mothers concerning post-natal care. The School of Clinical Medicine has addressed the warning signs of burnout and preventative measures.

Bishop Ramahlele emphasised the importance of sustained relationship, which is expected to create further opportunities for interaction through partnerships in skills training (ICT) and the sharing of resources, including consultations through conference platforms. Prof LenkaBula highlighted the significance of the MOA by applauding the initiative, which has unlimited potential to ensure national development through student engagement, since universities create development sites that can be transferred further into the community.

News Archive

Success of Schools Partnership Programme embodies essence of UFS

2016-01-04

Description: Schools Partnership programme Tags: Schools Partnership programme

The everyday function and subsequent success of the SPP have come to embody the very essence of the UFS: inspiring excellence; transforming lives.

Addressing the urgent need for quality education at school level, the University of the Free State (UFS) established the Schools Partnership Project (SPP) in 2012. The aim of the project has been to turn ineffective schools into institutions producing outstanding results, thereby increasing the number and quality of first-year students at the UFS.

Within three years, the SPP has grown to include 68 primary and secondary schools across the Free State and the Sterkspruit area in the Eastern Cape. The programme is headed by Dr Peet Venter and run from the UFS South Campus. Expert mentors assist teachers and principals at these schools on a weekly basis, helping them to excel at their core functions. The programme’s success has been phenomenal.

Learner results from the SPP schools show a marked improvement compared to previous years. Teachers report that they have gained a broader understanding of the subjects they teach. “The university is doing a great job with this programme,” says one of the teachers. “We have developed a lot. We really appreciate this partnership.” Teachers not only gain substantial expertise in areas of planning, presentation, and subject knowledge; an increasing number of them have been receiving promotions, too.

The principals experience similar positive results, and regard the SPP as a productive contribution to their schools. The project has also established closer cooperation between principals and schools. This enables them to achieve common goals, share knowledge, and deal with challenges together.

An added spin-off of the programme has been the increased involvement of parents and care-givers. “We experience much more involvement from the community,” says mentor Danie Nieuwenhuizen. Parents start to take it upon themselves to tidy school grounds, care for vegetable gardens, and prepare food at school feeding schemes. Even the Sustained Silent Reading programme – that supplies magazines to learners – is now having an impact on households and communities. Many homes have never had magazines or other reading material before the reading programme.

The everyday function and subsequent success of the SPP have come to embody the very essence of the UFS: inspiring excellence; transforming lives.

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