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UFS proud of remarkable 2021 Free State NSC matric results

26 January 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Charl Devenish

Matric_Web read more — The Free State once again excelled in the NSC matric results. Pictured here is a broadcast of a celebratory event held by the FSDoE on the UFS South Campus in 2021 for the matric class of 2020.

The Free State has claimed the top spot in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results for the third consecutive year, with a pass rate of 85,7% in 2021.

“On behalf of the executive management, staff, and students of the University of the Free State (UFS), I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to you and your executive team on the Free State being the top-achieving province,” Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, wrote in a congratulatory letter to Dr Tate Makgoe, MEC for Education in the Free State.

“The UFS is proud to be associated with the Free State Department of Education and we salute you and your team for the many initiatives in schools across the province, which have contributed to the outstanding matric results this year,” Prof Petersen said.

The UFS will welcome several first-year students on its three campuses in February – many of whom hail from schools in the Free State. The 2021 NSC results were released on 20 January 2022.

Several UFS-led interventions thrive to make impactful change

The UFS is leading several projects with the Department of Education to address education-related problems in the province. The UFS, through its South Campus, presents the In-Service (InSET) programme, the Internet Broadcast Project (IBP), and the Schools Partnership Project. “It is projects such as these that make a huge difference in the lives of many learners and teachers in our province and that have given so many schools the opportunity to rise to the occasion,” Prof Petersen said.

The IBP supports learners from 80 schools, with lessons for learners in Grades 8 to 12 being transmitted to three centres across the Free State on a daily basis. Electronic access to learning material is also made possible through the IBP. The Schools Partnership Project, as part of the Social Responsibility Project at the UFS, is focused on the efficacy and quality of school management, subject teaching, and learning development. Well-trained mentors visit project schools on a daily basis, sharing knowledge, materials, and demonstrating the use of technology in an effort to improve the standard of teaching.

News Archive

Gaza doctor speaks of hope and courage

2011-10-21

An emotional Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish talks about the loss of his three daughters
Photo: Johan Roux

Listen to Dr Abuelaish's public lectures (audio)

In 2009 Israeli forces bombed the house of Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish killing four people: three of his daughters and a niece. Speaking about this life-changing event, Dr Abuelaish delivered two public lectures at the University of the Free State (UFS) this week spreading the message of hope and peace.

Dr Abuelaish, who was introduced as the Nelson Mandela of Palestine by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, spoke emotionally about the loss of his daughters Bessan, Aya and Miyar. He told the audience that there was no reason for them to be killed. His girls were armed with love, hope and education.

He urged people to have moral courage and encouraged them to strive for justice, truth and peace. When there is justice and truth, peace is a consequence. “As a medical doctor I never lose hope. By the end of this world we will forget what enemies did, but will never forget the silence of brothers.”

Dr Abuelaish spoke passionately about the role of women in society and said a country develops by how much it invests in women’s education. “We must realise the strongest members in a community are women. Women maintain the hope.”

Speaking about his life in the war, being born Palestinian, Dr Abuelaish said it was painful to hear that Palestinians are numbers and statistics. “When a soldier is killed in Iraq or another place, the screen speaks for days about what he ate and what he hoped for, others are figures and numbers.”

Dr Abuelaish, who wrote the book I shall not hate, A Gaza Doctor’s Transformational Journey of loss, Love and Change, said the death of his daughters made him stronger and more focused not to give up. “I swore to my daughters and God not to rest, I fully believe I will meet them one day. I will meet them with the big gift of justice.”

Visit the website www.daughtersforlife.com to read more about Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish.

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