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ARU researcher Ntebohiseng Sekhele guest edits journal on montane rangelands

06 April 2021 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah

Ntebohiseng Sekhele_web read more — Ntebohiseng Sekhele is the Associate Guest Editor of the recent Special Issue of the African Journal of Range & Forage Science.

The Director of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), Dr Ralph Clark, and researcher, Ntebohiseng Sekhele, recently became part of a guest editorial team for the African Journal of Range & Forage Science. The Special Issue titled, ‘Montane rangelands in a changing world’, was published on 3 March 2021.

“I feel privileged to have been part of the team that assembled this special issue. The experience was daunting at first, as I had never been part of an editorial team before. However, with the support of the guest editors and the journal’s administrator, I was able to overcome the imposter-syndrome feeling and allowed myself to learn and enjoy the ride. My ‘aha’ moments were the critical comments from the reviewers on each paper. It was amazing to witness how this feedback would enhance the quality of an article,” said Ntebohiseng Sekhele, Geography lecturer on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Journal focus

This issue focused on the applied management of montane rangelands for production in Southern Africa and the broader world. Submissions could include original research, reviews, and meta-analyses. This has culminated in contributions that centred on the impact of policy on pastoral practices by montane communities, fire management regimes, cumulative effects of poor governance on rangeland degradation, and sustainable grazing systems – including in ecological infrastructure such as montane wetlands and communal rangeland.

“The process took almost a year, as the first call for abstracts was made in December 2019 and final revisions of accepted papers were concluded in November 2020. There were 32 submissions with only 12 articles and one book review of Prof Rodney Moffett’s book, A Scientific Bibliography of the Drakensberg, Maloti and Adjacent Lowlands. Of the 12 contributions, nine focus on the Maloti-Drakensberg, with papers on Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State,” she revealed.

Submitted papers

“All papers advocate for the sustainable management of sensitive montane systems, which ties well with my own research that makes a contribution to the limited scholarship of natural resource-related conflicts between montane communities and their adjacent protected areas, as well as climate change impacts on natural resources,” said Sekhele, a PhD candidate through the ARU’s US-SA University Staff Development Programme (USDP). The special issue allowed for a closer link between the US and SA USDP through the involvement of Dr Kryan Kunkel – Ntebohiseng’s US co-supervisor – as one of the guest editors.

News Archive

UFS discontinues one Masters programme

2006-07-26

As from next year, the University of the Free State (UFS) will no longer offer one of its specialist master’s degrees in education – the M Ed in Education Management.

The other six M Ed programmes that are currently being offered at the UFS will continue as normal.

The decision to discontinue one of the M Ed programmes follows a national review of M Ed programmes in Educational Management and Leadership by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

Of the 23 tertiary institutions whose M Ed programmes in Educational Management and Leadership were reviewed by the HEQC, only 7 received full accreditation.

“The findings of the HEQC affect only one of our M Ed degree programmes, namely the M Ed in Educational Management,” said Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS

“We will be paying full attention to the findings of the HEQC with a view to correcting some of the shortcomings that have been identified by the HEQC and will consider submitting a reviewed proposal for such a qualification in two years time,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie, the programme currently has 30 students enrolled. “These students – spread across their first and second years of the degree programme – will be allowed to complete their studies with the full support of the UFS and the School of Education,” said Prof Fourie.

“The qualification that has been awarded to students who have already completed their studies for this specific M Ed in Education Management degree programme remains a valid qualification and is not affected by the HEQC review,” said Prof Fourie.

She said the UFS welcomed the efforts of the HEQC to ensure that all academic programmes offered by higher education institutions meet certain standards.

“One of the primary problem areas in the M Ed in Educational Management offered by the UFS identified by the HEQC, was that the programme is too practice orientated and must be more theoretical to comply with the academic requirements of a master’s degree. This was a result of the fact that the programme was initially compiled in consultation with principals and the provincial Department of Education to address their needs,” said Prof Fourie.

“The UFS will in the mean time offer an advanced certificate in Educational Management and Leadership from next year. This is a new course that will stretch over a period of two years and will ensure that we can still address the needs of teachers and principals,” said Prof Fourie.

“The UFS remains committed to providing top quality degree programmes in all its six faculties and will continue to work with the HEQC in ensuring that this actually happens,” said Prof Fourie.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
25 July 2006

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