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30 March 2021 | Story Dikgapane Makgetha | Photo Supplied
Social Work students at the UFS are working with the relevant stakeholders in an Engaged Teaching and Learning service-learning project to promote and respect children’s rights.
The protection of children’s rights is the principal achievement on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda. Emphasis has always been on the promotion and respect of children’s rights. Since the SDGs are grounded in a child rights-based approach, the University of the Free State (UFS) Social Work students – by engaging in a multi-disciplinary methodology – involve all the relevant stakeholders in their Engaged Teaching and Learning service-learning module project. 

The social partners, which included the South African Police Service (Child Protection Unit), the Department of Social Development, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Health, faith-based organisations, and other children’s advocacy agents, were involved from inception until the apex launch of the project. 

Access to basic human rights

In their exit level, fourth-year Social Work students participate in community work practicums, which incorporates the theoretical development process in adherence to the objectives of their community work. The initial phase of the project involved the situation analysis exercise, which the students implemented through collaboration with the Rekgonne Primary School action committee. 

The outcome of the survey indicated that some learners were exposed to physical and sexual abuse. It was also found that they did not have access to basic human rights such as education, health care, and social grants due to the absence of the required legal documents. From the interactive discussions that took place during the launch, it emerged that some children do not have birth certificates required for school registration and access to social grants. 

Through the students’ community project, a platform was created where important skills and information could be shared among all important role players (who are in different professions and guardians of children’s human rights). It is believed that since learners are spending more hours in school, educators would be the primary detectors to notice signs of negligence and potentially adverse circumstances among their learners.

Role players collaborate to make a difference

Through the scholarship of engagement, students succeeded in engaging with the community to attend to societal challenges (violated children’s rights). In order to realise the outcome of the project, continuous collaboration among all role players must be sustained. All parties adopted a resolution to create safe environments both at school and at home by supporting families and caregivers.

Government partners that participated were determined to strengthen protection systems and improve child welfare, reinforcing the implementation of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.  Educators were empowered and supported in the mandate of the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC). This is an initiative that involves stakeholders in improving the quality of education for all children and addresses issues of safety and well-being for all children. 

News Archive

Dean of the Faculty of Law delivers farewell lecture
2013-12-04

Prof Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS), delivered his farewell lecture during an event attended by distinguished guests from law circles in Bloemfontein, staff from the faculty, as well as family and friends.

The topic of his farewell lecture was: From leonine to universal partnerships. This theme was also the focus of his inaugural lecture and his later research. “It was a privilege to have been part of the development of universal partnership law,” Prof Henning said.

During the event, Prof Henning was honoured by colleagues, as well as members of the law profession, for his contribution to the academy. Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, thanked Prof Henning for his part in preparing a new generation of academics for the future.

Prof Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer from the Department of Mercantile Law, described Prof Henning as someone with an excellent knowledge of history, especially with regard to the Anglo-Boer War and the World Wars. “He is also one of only a few academics of which four postgraduate students became professors. He has lots of empathy with other people and, despite his long list of academic achievements, he is a very humble man. Two of his outstanding characteristics are his humanity and his modesty,” said Prof Snyman-Van Deventer.

Judge Faan Hancke, former chairperson of the UFS Council and Judge of the Supreme Court, said Prof Henning is a multi-faceted person. “He is an incredible academic who has published widely and is the author of several textbooks. He is also editor of a number of journals and serves on the editorial board of several publications. I have great admiration for his academic excellence and his absolute knowledge of partnership law. He is the best in South Africa and is also highly regarded internationally in this aspect of the law (he was, among others, director of the Centre for Comparative Partnership and Company Law at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies of the University of London). He is the ideal academic, who has achieved the highest rating in his specialist field of Mercantile Law in South Africa, namely a B1 received in 2012, and he is an excellent dean,” Judge Hancke said.

Prof Henning has a long association with the UFS. In 1968 he reported as a first-year student. Later, in 1974, he was appointed in the Department of Mercantile Law on a temporary basis. In 1998 he was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Law. Some of the highlights in his career include his appointment as African representative of CIDOEC, Jesus College, Cambridge, and becoming the first South African being awarded an honorary fellowship to the Society of Advanced Legal Studies in Brittain, as well as the American Order of the Coif.

Prof Henning will continue his partnership with the university in 2014, acting as dean and continuing his research.

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