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22 April 2021 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Thabo Kessah
Faith Mudzingiri.

Sharing her father’s love for the field of commerce, Faith Mudzingiri, daughter of Dr Calvin Mudzingiri, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, is one of the more than 1 500 students who received their qualifications during the University of the Free State Qwaqwa Campus virtual graduation ceremony. Faith obtained her BCom General Management degree during the virtual ceremony on 21 April.

In 2020, Mudzingiri topped the academic charts as the best student across all faculties on the campus.

Following in the footsteps of her father

An accounting enthusiast from an early age, Faith said her father has been her biggest motivation. Having a parent in such a critical position can come with immense pressure to perform, but she said “watching him inspired me a lot. For me to be here, is because I’ve learned from him that hard work pays off”.

Mudzingiri said while she was grateful for the accomplishment of being the Dux student for 2020, her academics did not get off to a good start in 2017 when she began her first year.

“As an international student coming from Zimbabwe, I struggled a lot in my first year. I had difficulty finding my feet in the new environment. Things got better in my second year, but in my third year I reminded myself why I was here and why I started this degree. I knew I wanted to graduate in record time, and so had to put in the work.”

Still set on achieving her accounting dream, Mudzingiri is now pursuing a BCom Accounting degree on the Bloemfontein Campus. “I would love to become a tax accountant and start my own accounting firm one day.”

News Archive

HEDSA discusses better services for students with disabilities
2010-09-30

At the gala dinner were, from the left: Anlia Pretorius, Chairperson of HEDSA and Head of the Disability Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand; Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training; Ms Hetsie Veitch, Head of the Unit for Students with Disabilities at the UFS; and Prof. Niel Viljoen, Vice-Rector: Operations at the UFS.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The first ever General Meeting of the Higher Education Disability Services Association (HEDSA) was held on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein this week. HEDSA is a newly constituted body that represents the Disability Units from the various universities across the country.

The UFS is a member of HEDSA, which aims to work together to promote equal opportunities for students with disabilities in terms of access, participation and success in Higher Education.

The General Meeting forms part of the launching symposium with the theme: New Beginnings and New Directions. The symposium, attended by 15 higher education institutions in South Africa, served as a platform to explore innovative approaches to assist in improving services for students with disabilities.

Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training, was one of the speakers at the gala dinner of this prestigious event. He said that there is still a lot of work to do to overcome discrimination against students as well as staff members with disabilities at higher education institutions. Minister Nzimande quoted from the Soudien report, a government-commissioned report that brought to light discrimination – especially racism and sexism – still endemic at South African universities. “Victims, in this instance referring to students and staff with disabilities, are denied the opportunity – either through a lack of access to opportunities or due to outright discrimination – to realise their full potential. In the process, the country is robbed of valuable but untapped human resources. Higher education institutions cause incalculable damage to South African society by failing to deal boldly with these issues. Where institutions have indeed taken action, the benefits to individuals, to the different social groups in the country, as well as to the institutions themselves, have been major.”

He stated that he believed that HEDSA as well as the symposium could play a vital role that would assist in this process.

Ms Hetsie Veitch, Head of the Unit for Students with Disabilities at the UFS, was elected as treasurer of this body for the following two years. Johnny Mokoka will represent the UFS in HEDSA’s National Student Organisation for Students with Disabilities that was established during the symposium this week.

Media Release
Issued by: Leonie Bolleurs
Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2707
Sel: 0836455853
Email: bolleursl@ufs.ac.za  
30 September 2010

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