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Clarification of urgent notice regarding accredited and non-accredited accommodation

06 February 2020 | Story Lacea Loader

During meetings between the management of the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Bloemfontein Campus Student Representative Council (CSRC) the week of 27 January 2020, an agreement regarding accredited and non-accredited accommodation was reached. Although it has been communicated to students on the university’s campuses earlier this week, it is important to clarify the agreement:

• For 2020, students on the three campuses of the UFS who receive funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and who live in accredited and non-accredited accommodation, will receive the monthly accommodation allowance that will be paid directly into the student’s bank account. Please note that the matter of the lease agreement is between the student and the service provider and the UFS does not take responsibility for payments to any supplier. The payments will only be made once funds are received from NSFAS.

• Registered NSFAS beneficiaries must log in on Self Service and apply online for the private accommodation allowance. The application process requires that the lease agreement should be uploaded on the Self-Service portal. This lease agreement must be signed by both the student and the service provider.

• Approved private accommodation applicants will receive their private accommodation allowance payment during the first week of each month for a period of 10 months, depending on the date of approval and the rental period.

• If the service provider does not have a lease agreement, students can download a basic lease agreement form here. This form must be signed by the student and the service provider.

• A process will be in place to verify the accommodation during 2020, as required by the Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology (DHET). This process will start with the completion of the application form for accreditation by the service provider. The application form can be obtained here.

News Archive

Teaching has always been in opera singer’s genes

2016-12-26

Albertus Engelbrecht believes that his predecessor
and mentor at the Odeion School of Music ,
Peet van Heerden, prepared him wonderfully for his task
as Vocals lecturer.
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

He has captivated audiences from Berlin to Los Angeles with his singing talent for 17 years. Yet, teaching has always been in his genes, and as a child Albertus Engelbrecht dreamed about teaching music someday.

Once, when the opera singer stood on the Free State flats during his MMus studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), he knew this is where he would come.

He has been employed as Vocals lecturer at the Odeion School of Music (OSM) since 1 July 2016 and is now ploughing back his knowledge for students he believes have an incredible passion for singing that is not found even in European vocalists.

Concerts in Los Angeles stand out
Engelbrecht was a lyrical tenor at the Landestheater Niederbayern in Passau, Germany, and was working with students as well as professional singers (in Nürnberg and later Passau). However, he was bitten by the teaching bug much earlier. “When I was a student at Stellenbosch (where he obtained his BMus degree at Stellenbosch University), I discovered I had a love for vocals training,” he says.

He has performed all over Europe and worked with famous conductors such as Philipp Augin (Los Angeles Opera). “The most impressive performance was the New Year concerts in Los Angeles, and specifically the concert in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, with fantastic architecture by Frank Gehry, and housing approximately 2 260 people.”

“When I was a student at Stellenbosch, I discovered that I had a love for vocals training.”

Big boots to fill at OSM
He achieved his master’s degree magna summa Cum Laude at the UFS and received the Fanie Beetge prize for the best postgraduate student. He studied for his master’s degree under Peet van Heerden, with Dr Matildie Thom Wium as supervisor.

Following Van Heerden’s retirement, Engelbrecht had big boots to fill. “The most important thing that I learnt from him as mentor was that the instrument of a vocalist is also the body and soul of that individual – to be able to see the human standing, singing before me.”

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