Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

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

Qwaqwa campus upgrade begins

2005-06-23

Academic facilities, including lecture halls and the library, on the Qwaqwa campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) will be upgraded to the tune of R1,4-million.

An extra R100 000,00 has also been made available for the upgrading of four staff houses on campus.

The tender for this project was awarded to a local business in the Qwaqwa region, Mguni Enterprises. This phase is expected to be completed next month - July 2005.

This is the second phase of upgrading of the Qwaqwa campus, following the earlier upgrading of student residences to the tune of R6,2-million.

“The total capital injection to improve the infrastructure on the campus is R7,7 -million. The aim of the upgrading is to improve the infrastructure of the campus in order to provide an atmosphere conducive to learning, “said Prof Peter Mbati, Qwaqawa Campus Head.

The first phase of the upgrading - amounting to R6,2 million - comprised of the upgrading of the five student residences and mainly dealt with the maintenance backlog. Residences were painted, old furniture replaced, electricity rewired and the necessary alterations made to ensure sufficient hot water supply as well as a new look to the face of the residences.

According to Prof Mbati the student visiting areas, reception areas and rooms were also improved by the changes in the first phase. The renovated residences now also boast facilities such as kitchenettes, washing machines and tumble driers and computers rooms.

There are currently 754 students staying in the residences. Three residences accommodate female students and the other two are for male students. Students who are not accommodated on campus stay at the former Tshiya College of Education, approximately 5 kilometers from the campus. These students are bussed in to the campus on a daily basis.

“All these developments are a major step forward for the Qwaqwa campus as it once again shows our commitment to the campus to make it an attractive site of higher education in the Eastern Free State,” said Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Media release

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

23 June 2005

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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