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Motion of Confidence in UFS Leadership

29 March 2021 | Story Lacea Loader

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) confirmed the following at its meeting on 19 March 2021:

1. Its support of and confidence in the leadership of the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Francis Petersen and his team, and duly recognises the efforts and results achieved at the University during the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the current nationwide student protest on the payment of student debt.

2. In this context, the Council also distances itself and deplores the statements made by the leadership of the Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC), on national television on Monday 15 March 2021, as it pertained to the demand for the immediate resignation of the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and the statements pertaining to the Chancellor, Prof Bonang Mohale, and Chairperson of the Council, Dr Willem Louw. The Council notes that Mr Katleho Lechoo, President of the ISRC subsequently retracted the utterances.

3. The Council strongly affirms its confidence in the relationship between the leadership of the UFS and the ISRC and expresses its appreciation for the University leadership’s commitment to continuously engage with students about matters of concern to them. The Council furthermore encourages positive and constructive engagement by the ISRC with the University leadership, as this contributes to shared-understanding of the challenges faced by the South African higher education sector and the governance of the UFS.

News Archive

Competition emphasises value of mother-tongue education

2017-11-02

At the recent Multilingual Debating Competition were, from the left: Anita Muller,
local facilitator; William Magwa, master of ceremonies; Dr Chrismi-Rinda Loth,
project coordinator in the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment; and
Mabatho Ntsieng, project facilitator in Community Engagement.
Photo: Supplied

The Multilingual Public Speaking Competition has been an annual event in Philippolis since 2013. The competition was established as a result of the Multilingual Information Development Programme (MIDP), a project sponsored by the province of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium.

The competition is jointly hosted by the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment (ULFE) at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Department of Community Engagement, also from the UFS.

Debating in your home language
Grade 6 to 9 learners from four schools participated in this year’s competition. Bergmanshoogte Intermediate School, Madikgetla Primary School, Williamsville Primary School, and Springfontein Primary School each entered their three best speakers per grade.

Olerato Tshiloane, a Grade 7 learner from Madikgetla Primary School, was named best speaker overall.

Everyone debated on ‘Heritage’
The overall theme of this annual event was ‘Heritage’. Thirty six learners debated in their mother tongue on aspects of this theme, such as its definition, the role it plays in their lives, and the importance thereof. According to Dr Chrismi-Rinda Loth from ULFE, learners have to present their speeches in their mother tongues. “This emphasises the value of the mother tongue/home language within a teaching context,” she says.

This year’s competition saw 20 Afrikaans speeches, 13 in Sesotho, and three in isiXhosa. The multilingual adjudication panel was composed of teachers from the participating schools, and the head adjudicator from the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV). The ATKV is a partial sponsor of the competition and also provides the participation certificates.

Dr Loth says ULFE and Community Engagement are looking forward to continue their collaboration, thus contributing to the empowerment of the community.

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