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27 June 2022 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Supplied
Peter Moopi
Newly appointed English lecturer Peter Moopi.

“I didn’t start out as a bright student. I had to build and develop myself. Sometimes I would get very low marks in a module, and I’d feel like I wasn’t good enough. I had to push myself beyond my limits.”
These were the words shared by Peter Moopi, newly appointed English Lecturer on the Qwaqwa Campus, as he reflected on his journey from being a student to standing on the other side of the lecture room.

‘Academic journey made me more resilient’

Moopi began his journey with the UFS in 2016 when he enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English, Business Management, and Psychology on the Qwaqwa Campus. He went on to complete his honours degree in English in 2019 and enrolled for an MA degree in the same field in 2020, which he obtained during the April 2022 graduations. A month later, in May, he was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of English on the campus.

In addition to his academic struggles, Moopi said he had to make ends meet in order to have something to eat, as his undergraduate bursary did not provide money for food. He said he often had to improvise and navigate with friends for food. In his honour’s year, he struggled to find a balance between his studies and his tutoring job at the time and landed in the doctor’s office because of a mental breakdown. “The doctor simply said, ‘Peter, you need to sleep, because you’re overworking yourself,” he recalled. These struggles built his diligence and perseverance, he said.

‘Be clear about what you want in life’

What does ‘owning the future’ mean to Moopi? 

This is what he had to say: “It means having a clear purpose, vision, and mission. Having clear career goals and working on them every day. Putting daily effort into what you want. Of course, there are no guarantees for the future, but you have to be clear about what you want out of life.”

He is currently pursuing his PhD in English, with a focus on African decoloniality in English literature.

A true lecturer, Moopi said he loves imparting knowledge to his students and encouraging them to build themselves from undergrad. “What I always tell them, and what I’d love any student or aspiring academic reading this to know, is the importance of cultivating a culture of and love for reading. You gain a lot of skills, and knowledge that can also help you make informed decisions about your career and life. While still privileged to be in this institution, reach out to people and build networks. A lot of people are always available to help you, so just reach out.”

News Archive

Spanish academic discuss frameworks for successful higher education
2013-08-29

Prof Melanie Walker, Senior Research Professor at CHECaR, Prof Sandra Boni and Dr Sonja Loots, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the CHECaR seminar.
29 August 2013
Photo: Thabo Motsoane

In the latest Centre for Higher Education and Capabilities Research (CHECaR) seminar, Prof Sandra Boni from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia in Spain presented on ‘Competencies in Higher Education: A Critical Analysis from the Capabilities Approach.’ The presentation focused on the significant transformation taking place in universities and how that is affecting teaching and learning practices. The competencies approach plays a key role in this transformation process by associating the mastering of certain skills with successful completion of higher education qualifications.

Prof Boni and her colleagues argue that the competencies approach is flawed and too narrow to be used in evaluating successful higher education and that a broader human development perspective has to be applied. She argues that the capabilities approach represents a more inclusive framework for guiding the holistic development of students through the expansion of all human choices to achieve what they value most, not just to benefit economically from education. The inclusion of the human development framework in universities’ training would lead to generating ‘public-good professionals’ who are equipped prepared with the necessary competencies to enter their chosen career – but who will also be the bearers of a social consciousness.

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