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16 March 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Charl Devenish
Health Sciences_read more
From left to right: Prof Gert van Zyl (Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences), Prof Marlene Viljoen (previous Head: School of Nursing), Prof Fransis Petersen (Rector and Vice-Chancellor), Prof Tiney Crous (previous Head: Dept. Physiotherapy) and Prof Philip Badenhorst (Previous Head: Department of Haematology and guest speaker.
The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) kicked of its 50-year anniversary celebrations on Tuesday night (10 March) with a cocktail function and some entertaining stories from the old days by one of its former heads of department.
  
Prof Philip Badenhorst, a former Head of the Department of Haematology and Cell Biology, had the crowd of distinguished guests – including Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the faculty, other heads of department and former heads of schools, as well as deans from other faculties  – in stitches with tales from days gone by.

Among the other guests in the Francois Retief Building were also members of the alumni, student representatives, and private hospital managers.

Prof Badenhorst, who started working in Bloemfontein in December 1969 and retired forty years later in 2009, said he had the privilege of witnessing first-hand the founding and development of the faculty. 

“I have witnessed the faculty grow from a bare field to the completion of a striking building complex; from a few staff members to an institution on par with the best by the time I left. I witnessed achievements that have astonished the world,” he said before going on to reflect on some funny incidents. 

Prof Van Zyl, who did the welcoming, gave a brief history of the establishment of the faculty and highlighted some important dates. 
 “Let me start by saying, where were you 50 years ago? What an achievement. This is the first of our celebrations for our 50-year anniversary. But I need to say immediately, it didn’t start 50 years ago. When I looked at the history of the faculty, it already started in 1950.” 

“I need to go back to the first official reference to medical training, and that was already in 1950 when the Brebner Commission into dental and medical education announced that they think there should be medical schools, as defined in the writings of Prof FP Retief, the founding dean. They announced that there were three areas and identified the Free State as their preference for a medical school.”

According to the references, the announcement of a medical school in the Free State only came on 6 June 1969 at the official opening of the OFS Institute of Isotopes and Radiation, when Minister CPC de Wet informed the approximately 450 ecstatic guests that the government had decided in principle to establish, in time, medical training facilities at three universities, namely the University of the Orange Free State, RAU, and the University of Natal.  

Health_content

Seated:  Prof Joyce Tsoka-Gwegweni:  Vice Dean – Research, Transformation and Marketing: Faculty of Health Sciences, Mrs Marietjie Claassen,   Prof Tiney  Crous,  Mrs Marié Potgieter
and  Prof Jocelyn Naiker (MC)   Back: Prof Jan Botha (previous Head: Forensic Medicine), Prof John  Shipley (previous Head:  Orthopaedic Surgery),  Porf Corli Witthuhn
(Vice-Rector: Research, Innovation  and Internationalisation)

 The first employee of the new faculty was Mr MJ (Boffie) Strydom who was appointed as assistant registrar on 21 July. He commenced duty on 1 October and would play a remarkable role as Chief Administrative Officer in the faculty until his retirement in 1986. In recognition of his role, the central committee room in the faculty was named after him after his death. Prof FP Retief, the first Dean, commenced duty on 1 January 1970.


Other important dates include:
• On 16 February 1970, the JSAC convened for the first time and established the core of the future academic staff structure.
• On 23 February, sketch plans and costings regarding the faculty building were submitted to the Executive Committee (EC) of the Council.
• A preliminary Faculty Council meeting was held in the tearoom of the National Hospital on 14 September 1970, followed by the first full status Faculty Board meeting on 25 February 1971.
• The first students to register at the faculty on 26 June, were eleven postgraduate MMed students.
• The first intake of first-year students was in February 1971.
• On 20 March 1978, the faculty building was formally opened.

News Archive

UFS enhances Geography in schools
2015-05-11

The Green Box

The Department of Geography at the University of the Free State (UFS), in association with the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG), is doing their part in providing curriculum support to schools. Dr Ruth Massey and Anneri Pretorius are the project managers of Green Box, an initiative to advance Geography in schools.

The Green Box supports the intermediate phase of schooling (Grades 4, 5, 6). According to Dr Massey, the worksheets and activities provided in the Green Box are aligned with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and the new curriculum. “These worksheets are divided into three themes: map work, physical Geography, and human Geography.

“Map work includes symbols and keys, grid references, and compass work whilst physical Geography focuses on water and waste, biodiversity and conservation, and weather and climate issues. The human Geography theme has a focus on population, rural and urban development, migration, food and farming, and transport and trade,” she said.

Each worksheet has a fact sheet section which teaches theory on the specific topic (linked to the curriculum), an activity section (all resources needed for these activities are provided in the box), and a ‘take it home’ section for further learning and practice at home.

The Green Box is a recycled plastic crate that comprises worksheets, training materials, visual aids, and resources for teaching, learning, and active engagement in Geography classes.

Also included in the box are a felt story board and characters (that link with the worksheet activities), the ‘Climate Change memory game’ (which enhances learner’s memory capabilities and teaches various climate change facts) and the ‘Sustainable Development puzzle game’ (which teaches about the social, biophysical, economic, and political elements of Sustainable Development, and how they overlap).

“All items in the box are locally sourced, robust, and without copyright,” said Dr Massey.

The project is focusing on 10 under-resourced schools in the Bloemfontein area. Each school has received three boxes (one for each grade of the Intermediate Phase).

Dr Massey said: “This box is to be shared among the teachers. The Green Boxes were distributed at a training and information workshop held at three central schools in the various districts. These workshops introduced the teachers to the contents of their box, and provided basic training on the worksheets and the activities provided.”

“The schools will be joined up with ‘Box Buddies’ at more resourced schools in Bloemfontein. These buddy schools will assist in support and in replenishing the box’s stationery, etc. when needed.”

“Monitoring and evaluation will take place for six months after the boxes have been distributed. This will ensure support to, and the sustainability of, the project.” The Green Box project was made possible through a grant from the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG).

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