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Education dominates Qwaqwa Campus Teaching and Learning Awards

17 July 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo UFS photo archive

The Faculty of Education on the Qwaqwa Campus has recently dominated the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards, as well as the Research Awards for 2019/2020. The faculty’s Drs Bunmi Omodan and Maria Tsakeni were placed first and second respectively in the category Research in Teaching and Learning. This was on top of the faculty’s accolade in the category Faculty/Department that is the most involved in Teaching and Learning events and practices on the Qwaqwa Campus.

“The faculty is indeed proud to be associated with these fine scholars and the excellence they represent,” said Faculty of Education Dean,Prof Loyiso Jita, in a congratulatory message to the faculty members.

“To the winners, please continue to live our emerging vision of ‘Representing and using our diversity, excellence in scholarship on research and teaching, and an ethic of care and service’ to produce teachers with balanced knowledge and skills and a consciousness to serve all of society in its diversity,” he added.

Winners from the faculty for the Research Awards were Dr Bekithemba Dube as the Most Prolific Researcher in the Faculty of Education and Dr Sekitla Makhasane in the category Best Emerging Researcher in the Faculty of Education.

It is the first time in years that all four faculties received Learning and Teaching Awards. Institutional awards are scheduled for September 2020.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards:

Category: Research in Learning and Teaching:

Position 1: Dr Bunmi Omodan (Faculty of Education)

Position 2: Dr Maria Tsakeni (Faculty of Education)

Category: Innovation in Learning and Teaching:

Position 1: Dr Diana Breshears and Rentia Engelbrecht (The Humanities)

Position 2: Prof Aliza le Roux (Natural and Agricultural Sciences)

Position 3: Lebohang Masoabi (Economic and Management Sciences)

Position 4: Dr Maria Tsakeni (Faculty of Education)

Category: Faculty / Departmental Award

Faculty of Education (with special mention of Dr Cias Tsotetsi; Dr Maria Tsakeni; Thabiso Motsoeneng; and Dr Sekitla Makhasane).

Research Awards per faculty:

Education

Most Prolific Researcher: Dr Bekithemba Dube (School of Education Studies)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Sekitla Makhasane (School of Education Studies)

The Humanities

Most Prolific Researcher: Dr Oliver Nyambi (Department of English)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Tshepo Moloi (Department of History)

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Most Prolific Researcher: Prof Francis Dejene (Department of Physics)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Lehlohonolo Koao (Department of Physics)

Economic and Management Sciences

Most Prolific Researcher: Dr Calvin Mudzingiri (Department of Economics and Finance)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Charity Gomo (Department of Economics and Finance)

News Archive

Teacher training key to democracy and freedom

2011-12-06

MEC Mr Tate Makgoe (left) with Faculty of Education’s Prof. Dennis Francis, holding the inaugural SURLEC Award. With them is Dr Dipane Hlalele.
Photo: Thabo Kessah

Universities have the responsibility to respond to the challenges that the South African education system is faced with.

This is the view of the Free State MEC for Education, Mr Tate Makgoe, during his address at the three-day First Sustainable Rural Learning Ecologies (SURLEC) Colloquium, which was recently held at the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS).

“Our universities must not only research the failures of our system. They must also come up with solutions.

“One of the questions that demand answers in our country is whether we produce quality teachers at our universities, considering our learners’ performance internationally. Our children lack the basics like grammar and yet we are 17 years into democracy. Why is their performance so poor in comparison to children in poorer countries?” asked Mr Makgoe.

“We must work together as a Government and universities to change this. Universities must be anchors of democracy and freedom, which is meaningless if our children cannot read and write. We must also focus on Mathematics and Natural Sciences, not forgetting to value our indigenous knowledge and games to enhance learning, especially in Mathematics,” he said.

According to Dr Dipane Hlalele, Head of the Faculty of Education at the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, the colloquium was held to search for best practices and success stories relating to the theme, Creating sustainable rural learning ecologies in the 21^st century.

“Our objective was to tap into experiences and wisdom of policy makers, researchers, scholars, teachers and students in order to map a new direction in research as well as to make an indelible mark on the revitalisation of this campus,” concluded Dr Hlalele.

The UFS Dean of Education, Prof. Dennis Francis’ efforts to improve rural education were honoured with the first ever SURLEC Award.

Over 70 research papers from the universities of the Free State, South Africa, Venda, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology were delivered and learners from the local schools like The Beacon, Mafube, Qwaqwa and Clubview presented their winning projects at the Science Expo.

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