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Dr Bekithemba Dube recognised for his scholarly impact

09 June 2021 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Supplied

Dr Dube_web read more — Dr Bekithemba Dube, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education on the Qwaqwa Campus, says researchers need to participate in the production of high-quality scholarship that will contribute to transformation.

Discipline, focus, and a willingness to learn all form part of the traits that avid researcher and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education on the Qwaqwa Campus, Dr Bekithemba Dube, cites as his master tools for productivity. This, along with the desire to be part of the transformation of African research.

Dr Dube was recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research reputation of the university in a letter from Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research and Internationalisation. He was listed as the third largest contributor to research journals across all campuses, and first for the Qwaqwa Campus. In 2020, Dr Dube published 26 articles and was announced the Most Prolific Researcher in the Faculty of Education during the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards. Dr Dube's research focuses on the interlink between education, religion, and politics in postcolonial Africa.

Prof Witthuhn’s letter states that his "contribution is above and beyond the call of duty and has been recognised by your peers. In the light of this, I would like to say congratulations and thank you for your exceptional hard work, effort, and dedication to support our research endeavour".

Dr Dube said the letter was an affirmation that hard work pays off. "When you work hard, regardless of space and time, eventually it speaks for itself. You cannot hide hard work."

Pushing the agenda of African scholarship

For Dr Dube, pushing the agenda of scholarship is the most important aspect of research. "We're in a phase of transformation where initially writing was secluded to certain people, but now young African people in the periphery and outskirts can begin to contribute meaningfully; we're breaking those barriers and showing that we can be a force to be reckoned with."

One of his passions is to groom young people in academia to become prolific researchers, and he believes that the sciences and the humanities all have something to offer, not as competition, but through collaboration towards the agenda of scholarship production.

"I'm a firm believer that we can all shine together. As young people and Africans, we need to be part of this transformation. We need to be seen participating in knowledge production, especially high-quality scholarship that can contribute to transformation and address the lived realities of African people."

With the advent of COVID-19, Dr Dube focused some of his research efforts on the effects of online learning on rural students. His most cited paper,'Rural Online Learning in the Context of COVID-19 in South Africa: Evoking Inclusive Education Approach', looked at the challenges faced by rural learning in South Africa during the unprecedented time of the pandemic. "If we are to make history, we need to work now, because tomorrow is not guaranteed, but our work can continue to speak for us even after we are gone. There's nothing as sweet as knowing you've changed the narrative," he said.

News Archive

UFS presents unique rally

2005-06-07

On Friday 10 June 2005, the University of the Free State (UFS) will present the Kovsie version of the Amazing Race in Bloemfontein.

The Amazing Rainbow Rally will be held in aid of children and babies with serious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

By raising the necessary funds, equipment can be acquired to meet the unique health care needs of these special patients. It will also enable the UFS to maintain the high standards of education, training and research in this field.

The Amazing Rainbow Rally will give some residents of Bloemfontein an opportunity to test their knowledge of the city, as well as their time management skills, communication skills, team work and even their relationships!

About 12 corporate teams from among others Vodacom, Eskom, Medi-Clinic, Mimosa Mall and Nedbank and four university teams must follow a specific route with various checkpoints by car. Here they will have to complete activities or solve clues before receiving their clue to the next checkpoint. Teams will be traveling with cars branded with the logo of the company they represent.

The rally will start at 09:00 at the Rooiplein of the UFS and will again end on the campus where they will complete the last task. The first team to complete this task is the winner of Bloemfontein’s first Amazing Rainbow Rally.

OFM’s breakfast team will do live crossings on the day to reveal how teams are doing.

The Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the UFS serves children with special needs, in other words children who need intensive care, or who suffer from cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and conditions, endocrinological diseases or gastro-enterological conditions.

The Department provides secondary health care to more than 250 000 children in the southern parts of the Free State, but is responsible for the tertiary care of about a million children in the Free State and Northern Cape, as well as some parts of the North-West province, the Eastern Cape and Lesotho. The intensive care units at Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals serve approximately 1 300 neonatal and 350 intensive care patients annually. The pediatric cardiology unit admits almost 300 high care heart patients per year. Approximately 13 000 out-patients visit these two hospitals every year.

MEDIA RELEASE

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

7 June 2005

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