“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.