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Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa
Good news galore. Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa, Professor and Director of Pharmacology at the University of the Free State (UFS), received more good news recently when he was awarded a Visiting Professorship at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) in Beijing, China, as well as being elected as the Deputy President of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. Prof Matsabisa was also recommended by Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, part of the IBSA technical committee.

Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa, Professor and Director of Pharmacology at the University of the Free State (UFS), received more good news recently when he was awarded a Visiting Professorship at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) in Beijing, China. This news comes at the same time as the traditional medicine expert has been elected as the Deputy President of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology.

This is, however, not the end of the good news for Prof Matsabisa. Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, recommended him to Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, to be part of the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) working group in traditional medicine. As a member of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) Indigenous Knowledge-based Bio-Innovation programme, Prof Matsabisa, together with Prof Nceba Gqaleni, is part of the IBSA technical committee. Prof Matsabisa is also part of a technical team for National Department of Health on traditional medicines for the IBSA countries 

Unexpected honours

“I was not expecting any of these honours. It comes as a total shock. To have gone through the stringent evaluation and selection process at the BUCM and made it to the university’s highest award, is an honour. This is recognition of my academic and research quality by my peers on an international level.

“Being elected to lead a society of researchers and clinicians in the field of Pharmacology in the country is further recognition nationally of the academic and research excellence status. These awards coming at the same time is unbelievable. I am proud of the work I do as well as a gesture of support from scientists nationally and internationally and the support from UFS having allowed me to do what I do best academically,” says Prof Matsabisa.

According to him, some of the key expectations for this Visiting Professorship at the BUCM are teaching, to do collaborative research and conduct workshops jointly as well as joint leverage of research funding and co-publications. Prof Matsabisa will now, together with his counterparts at BUCM, discuss and synchronise their teaching and research so they plan the visit to benefit the UFS and the BUCM.

The South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology’s main activities are to bring pharmacologists together and share new scientific knowledge and developments in the field, explains Prof Matsabisa. The Society is for teaching and training; including research in both basic and clinical pharmacology, to support pharmacology conferences nationally and continentally. “We develop young pharmacologists and are also affiliated to international pharmacology societies. The purpose of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology is to excel and grow the pharmacology field in medicine.”

A good year for pharmacology and the UFS

This has been a good year for him and the team, for pharmacology and the UFS, says Prof Matsabisa. Most recently, Prof Matsabisa and the Department of Pharmacology received a grant of R58 million to establish one of the most advanced modern Pharmacology GLP-accredited research and development laboratories in the country, and possibly in the region. The department has also been awarded an annual Technology and Innovation Agency Platform (TIA) grant of R17 million for the next five years early this year.

“I am able to do what I do and achieve all this because of teamwork. I have a value chain of teams from support staff, cleaners, security, technical and research scientists with me. I have good students, postdoctoral fellows as well as management behind me.

“I hope such an environment can be given to all researchers to do what they do best and be supported fully and genuinely by senior management with decisions that are favourable to growing the institution without any favouritism or prejudice to anyone. It has indeed been a good year with all the funding we received. Watch this space for more.”

Looking forward most to China

Prof Matsabisa says he is looking forward to taking some of his postgraduate students with him to spend time at BUCM for training and conducting research. Says Prof Matsabisa: “I have very good postgraduate research students that need all the support. I look forward to spending a month or so at BUCM teaching BUCM students. I will leave my students there in good hands for 6-12 months per year. I promise, when these students return, they will return with a positive attitude for research and accountability.”

This was the case for him when he got a British scholarship to spend time at GlaxoSmithKline and the University of Bradford in the UK for his PhD. 

Prof Matsabisa hopes to use this Professorship at BUCM to popularise the work of the UFS and to create opportunities for new and upcoming researchers in the field of Pharmacology of Medicinal plants. This is his development plan

News Archive

Important message to UFS students on NSFAS and financial aid in general
2013-02-01

31 January 2013

Dear Students

There remains some uncertainty as well as misinformation within the student body concerning NSFAS and financial aid in general. This communication is intended to provide the facts on the state of student funding at the University of the Free State (UFS). I hope you find this information helpful and that it would guide you in your decisions as you wait to hear from, or hopefully receive funding from NSFAS or any other source.

  1. Every year the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) determines how much funding is available to fund students at all universities in South Africa; this is determined in part by the student numbers. Universities do not ask for, or determine the DHET allocation and are instructed by government that “NSFAS will ensure that the universities comply with the processes, procedures…for the allocated funds.”

  2. On 14 December 2012 the UFS received notice from the DHET that our total allocation would be R108,331,215.66 and that this amount must be apportioned in the following categories:
    General NSFAS Funding R85,174,275.07
    Teacher Training R2,291,940.59
    Disability Funding R1,265,000.00
    Final-Year Programme R19,600,000.00

  3. The UFS received 5 952 applications for NSFAS funding and with the available funding we can only finance up to 3 000 students on the Qwaqwa and Bloemfontein Campuses, provided that those students satisfy the stringent criteria, e.g. the so-called “national means test” determined for all universities in the country. If we funded more students that the available monies allow, the university would be held accountable by the NSFAS Board and the DHET and this would threaten future funding.

  4. Students apply in the previous year and therefore late applications are less likely to receive funding.

  5. Academic merit also counts, therefore students who fail one or more modules are less likely to receive new or ongoing support from NSFAS. The combination of academic standing and financial need are among the important criteria in decision-making on NSFAS funds.

  6. The UFS is one of the few universities with a very efficient record in using every cent made available to support poor students; we are proud of this record. No money is sent back to NSFAS, except small amounts not claimed by students in the disability category. The university is not allowed to shift funds between categories as described in point #2 above.

  7. Allocations are not based on campus, but need.

  8. The UFS sets aside an additional R35,7 million (in 2013) from within its own budget as bursaries so that we can accommodate as many students as possible. We spend every cent of this funding on students.

  9. The UFS also raises millions in bursaries from the private sector to support poor and promising students, though these funds are often linked to the industry granting the money, e.g. Investec for Accounting students and SASOL for Chemistry students. This recruitment of bursaries is a 24/7 commitment of the Marketing Office and the Faculties and Heads of Departments are also active in raising funds from government agencies, parastatals and the private sector for students in their units.

  10. After almost all our 2013 funds were allocated in favour of students, we calculated a shortfall in the NSFAS allocation of approximately R51 million. We are in the process of making an urgent submission to NSFAS to consider this additional allocation, but we cannot guarantee that this plea can or will be met.

Finally, I want all our students to know that the University of the Free State works very hard to raise every cent we can to provide poor students with funding for their studies. Many of my colleagues, including support staff, who do not earn very much, use some of their meagre personal resources to help a student with money for registration or clothing or food. In fact, the No Student Hungry Campaign that raises more than R600,000 by UFS volunteers annually, is another mechanism for trying to assist students who might have money for studies, but not much else.

We do this because we care, and because this is what The Human Project at Kovsies is all about.

I therefore ask for your patience as we continue our labour of raising the funds that enable every deserving student to continue their studies at the University of the Free State.

Should you have any further questions about NSFAS, please leave an email inquiry on choanet@ufs.ac.za or mallettca@ufs.ac.za and we will endeavour to provide you with the information you require.

Sincerely Yours

Jonathan D Jansen
Vice-Chancellor and Rector
University of the Free State

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