Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
26 May 2020 | Story Marcus Maphile | Photo Supplied
Marcus Maphile
The African continent is known for endless wars, extreme poverty, under-development, and highly contested borders left by the legacy of colonialism. Low levels of literacy among young people and adults remain a concern in many African states. African universities are slowly beginning to play a significant role in contributing to national innovation systems that seek to change the socio-economic and other fortunes of many poor and marginalised Africans. 

The African continent celebrates the 57th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and the relevance of the current African Union (AU) in the fight against socio-economic challenges caused by COVID-19 on the continent. The fear faced by most African countries emanates from inadequate healthcare systems and facilities. The debate on the opening of schools and institutions of higher learning is passed around like a soccer ball, as countries are aware that they lack the capacity to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 infections.

The African higher education and research sector is struggling to adapt. Will they be able to play a significant role towards finding a vaccine, producing new knowledge or research from African indigenous plants?  To be factual, in many ways this is not likely to happen, as most of the higher education institutions struggle with internet connectivity and high data costs. Many books and journals in libraries remain inaccessible, and most will only later record how developed countries moved to online teaching and learning with great success or failure.   All this will happen under the noses of illiterate Africans who rightly expect their higher education and research institutions to contribute towards finding immediate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic threat.

Most public and academic libraries remain closed and there is no word and contribution from highly decorated professionals towards sustaining reading habits and availing relevant materials for research towards finding a vaccine. There is no co-ordinated plan from library ministries and or library lobby groups. This is the context in which Africa Month 2020 is celebrated. It will be remembered as the year in which the promotion of reading and the opening of schools took a beating.

Marcus Maphile is Assistant Director: Library Marketing at the University of the Free State and he writes in his personal capacity.

News Archive

UFS management praise dean for achievement
2004-08-17

 

 

Prof Letticia Moja was praised by Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), and other members of management today for winning the education category of this year’s Shoprite Checkers/SABC2 Woman of the Year Award.

“We are extremely proud of Prof Moja with this prestigious achievement. It is also a feather in the cap for the UFS that our leaders are being recognised on a national level,” said Prof Fourie.

Prof Moja was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the end of last year, becoming the first woman to be appointed in this position at any medical faculty in the country.

“Prof Moja was nominated by her colleagues at the faculty. It is heart-warming to me that she made such an impact in the faculty in the short period since she was appointed as dean to be nominated for this prestigious award,” said Prof Fourie.

“On the nomination form, her colleagues wrote: ‘Prof Moja is not only a remarkable woman, but also a person with gifted qualities of leadership, dedication and compassion. She is blessed with the ability to listen to others, is an extremely reliable person and a competent leader’ – this makes her, in my view, a true winner”, said Prof Fourie.

Prof Moja was recently chosen as vice-president of the Health Professions Council and also serves on the Medical and Dental Board. Her involvement in these councils and committees enables her to represent women in general, as well as previous minority groups.

Prof Moja headed the Gynaecologic Oncology Unit at the Ga-Rankuwa Hospital in Pretoria from 1997 to February 2002, where after she was appointed as Vice-Dean at the UFS’s Faculty of Health Sciences and at the end of 2003 she was appointed in her current position. During her career, she has attended four international and eight local congresses, presented eight oral papers and four posters, was an author to one publication, co-authored four publications, was a guest editor to one publication and supervised three postgraduate publications.

MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept