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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

UFS finances are fundamentally sound

2007-12-01

The finances of the University of the Free State (UFS) remain fundamentally sound and a higher than expected surplus of about R26 million was achieved in the 2007 budget.

This announcement was made last week during the last meeting of the UFS Council by Prof. Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

“Up to now, we could finance the considerable investments in the infrastructure from discretionary funds, in spite of the fact that Council granted us permission during 2005/06 to take up a loan of R50 million for this purpose,” said Prof. Fourie.

The higher than expected surplus of about R26 million will be used among other things for the financing of infrastructure in order to further postpone the taking up of a loan.

In support of the drive to reposition the UFS nationally as a university that is successfully integrating excellence and diversity, R5 million will be made available from the surplus for this purpose.

The Council also approved the following allocations for 2008 for the key strategic pillars of a good practice budget for the university:

Information sources: R21,1 million
IT infrastructure: R3,5 million
Replacing expensive equipment: R7,05 million
Research: R18,1 million
Capital expenditure: R28,2 million
Maintenance capital assets: R18,2 million
Reserves: R6,3 million
Personal computers for the computer laboratory: R3,5 million

For the Qwaqwa Campus R2,5 million has been set aside for these issues.

In terms of strategic priorities R8 million was allocated for the academic clusters, R2 million for equitability, diversity and redress and R6 million for equity.

The projected income for 2008 will be R849 million, while the projected expenditure, excluding transfers, will be R694 million.

“Council further approved that discretionary strategic funds be largely voted to the further upgrading of the physical infrastructure, especially the Chemistry Building, the computer laboratory building, examination venues and the Joolkol,” said Prof. Fourie.

According to Prof. Fourie, funds have been reserved for the development of the academic clusters, as well as the continuation and acceleration of the transformation programme of the UFS.

“We have also managed to revise the conditions of employment of contract appointments and align it with the latest labour practices. The phasing in of the fringe benefits of this specific group of staff members will commence in 2008,” said Prof. Fourie.

Given the dependence of the income of the UFS on student numbers, a task team was formed last year to investigate the continued financial sustainability of the UFS. The core of this task team’s recommendations is:

to increase the third income stream by using the academic clusters as the main strategy; and to apply strategies such as the recruitment and extension of the postgraduate and foreign student corps, increase the income from donations and fundraising, etc.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
30 November 2007

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