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A PhD for 30-year-old UFS lecturer Constance Motsitsi

09 December 2022 | Story Samkelo Fetile

A passion for research and academia ignited Constance Motsitsi’s pursuit of scholarship and knowledge. Four degrees later, Motsitsi, a Public Administration and Management Lecturer in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), will add the title of ‘doctor’ to her long list of achievements. The 30-year-old lecturer will receive her PhD in Public Administration during the December 2022 graduation ceremony hosted on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

Hailing from Sebokeng in Gauteng, Motsitsi says she has always had a deep interest in understanding the functioning of the public sector. “Coming from a township that experiences poor service delivery, I was curious about the functioning of government institutions and their role in public management and administration. Thus, I enrolled for a BA Public Administration and Management degree at North-West University, where I also obtained my honours and master’s degrees in the same study field,” she says.

Her research has focused on public financial management reforms and service delivery in the Northern Cape Department of Health. “Each year the government spends millions of rands on implementing public financial management reforms, with the core objective of enhancing service delivery. Yet, despite the implementation of these reforms, service delivery in this department remains poor.” She set out to investigate the causes of the disconnect between the public financial management reforms and service delivery by the department.

“My study found that South Africa has some of the best public financial management reforms in the world. Thus, the problem is rather with the government officials entrusted with the execution of these reforms. It is evident that the Northern Cape Department of Health is in dire need of efficient, financially disciplined, and determined leaders who will prioritise the importance of value-for-money service delivery. Without such leaders, the failure of these reforms is imminent.”

The future Dr Motsitsi says she was inspired by her supervisor, who saw great potential in her. “My supervisor made me realise that I have what it takes to make a difference in my research area. That further ignited my passion for research and academia.”

As a single mother of a nine-year-old daughter, she set herself the goal of finishing her PhD in two and a half years. During her academic journey, she also discovered a new passion. “My love for lecturing, imparting knowledge, and stimulating innovative ideas in my students – our future leaders – gives me great joy and a sense of purpose.”

Motsitsi says she aspires to become an internationally acclaimed professor in her research area and an expert in her field of study over the next 10 years. “I am aware that this will require a rethinking of my work/life balance, as I believe that more effort, dedication, and resilience are generally associated with that level of success.” She says being able to balance one’s life is very important. “God remains central above all things and being in touch with my spirituality helps me to remain focused and also to remember the most important things and people in my life. Taking time out for self-care is also very important. Go for ice cream, read a non-academic book, watch a romantic movie, and make time for family.”

Motsitsi says that despite everything she has achieved, she still considers herself “a work in progress” with a lot more ahead of her. “There is still much more learning, unlearning, and self-discovery awaiting me. I believe what is needed is resilience, and although the academic journey gets lonely, challenging, and very frustrating at times, one needs to keep pushing and believing that what lies ahead is far greater than the storms one experiences along the way.”

News Archive

UFS releases draft charter to accelerate transformation

2007-02-02

The University of the Free State (UFS) today released a draft Institutional Charter which is intended to enhance and accelerate the ongoing transformation of the institution towards a non-racial, non-sexist future.

Speaking at the official opening of the university today, the Rector and Vice-chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, said the draft Institutional Charter, was an important milestone in the transformation debate for the university and the country.

“The draft charter acknowledges that black people, women and people with disabilities have been marginalised from job and developmental opportunities, within the higher education sector and at this university,” Prof Fourie said.

The charter commits the university to meeting the challenges of a transforming higher education institution in a developing society, in particular the challenges of nation-building, reconciliation, redress, non-racialism and non-sexism – and ultimately normalisation – within a high-quality academic institution.

The principles of the draft charter firmly signal the university’s commitment to diversity – attaining and maintaining substantive and sufficient diversity (including multiculturalism and multilingualism) – in its quest for quality and excellence.
Prof Fourie said the draft charter seeks to build consensus among staff and students at the UFS about the ultimate goals of transformation at a higher education institution.

The charter proposes several basic values and principles that should guide the transformation process and at the same time serve as a basis for a future, normalised university - a promised land to transform towards.

The discussion document says academic quality is intrinsically linked to transformation and it commits the university to strengthening the core competencies of research, teaching and learning as well as community service so as to ensure a robust university for future generations.

“Indeed the thousands of matriculants, black and white, who apply to study at the UFS want to study at a good university, and a good university wants to attract the best black and white students and the best black and white staff, male and female,“ Prof Fourie said.

He said the draft charter also seeks to safeguard academic freedom and institutional autonomy as the foundation of critical inquiry and scholarship.

Regarding the critical issue of creating a new institutional culture, the draft charter commits the UFS to creating a sense of belonging for all members of the university – black and white, male and female, of whatever language, religious, cultural or economic background, as well as people with disabilities.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@mail.uovs.ac.za
02 February 2007

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