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07 November 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Supplied
Delegates from various schools as well as the Free State Department of Education receive the book donations that will be distributed to 30 high schools in the Sasolburg region.

Statistics indicate that individuals who have difficulty reading are less motivated to read or visit the library, because they cannot recognise words, grasp, or understand what they read. Various organisations, including the University of the Free State (UFS), are addressing this issue by encouraging a reading culture and providing the required resources to enhance their reading skills.

The UFS, in collaboration with Zubeida Jaffer – an award-winning South African journalist, author, and activist – donated books to various secondary schools in the Fezile Dabi district, one of the five districts in the Free State.
Thandeka Mosholi, the Project Leader, said that impacting the youth of South Africa is a critical objective for the UFS Social Responsibility Projects (UFS SRP), which served as the vehicle to address this social injustice. The UFS SRP has established itself as an agent of change and friend of disadvantaged communities.

“In alliance with sponsors who embody compassion and integrity, we respond to the obligation to positively impact the future of South African youth. Our passion resonates with those who desire to open opportunities and bring purpose to learners born in circumstances they did not choose, by being leaders in school change. We believe this contribution will promote reading in schools, because children struggle to grow academically without reading and comprehension skills, as reading is the foundation of all academic subjects. Reading also influences the learner’s ability to write. So, instilling a love of reading at an early age is the key that unlocks the door to lifelong learning,” Mosholi explained.

Exposure to the past, present, and a peek into the future

The event, hosted at Cedar Secondary School in Sasolburg, saw books donated to 30 high schools to foster a reading culture among learners. The following books were donated: Beauty of the heart, Love in the times of treason, and Our generation. It covers 130 years of South African history, and are about three women – Charlotte Maxeke, Ayesha (Bibi) Dawood, and the author herself, Zubeida Jaffer.

“This initiative is to expose as many educators, learners, and students as possible to this collection, since it provides a firm foundation to make sense of our past, present, and future. These books are not to keep us stuck in the past, but to help us navigate the present. We have secured additional sponsorship from Old Mutual, which made it possible to reach schools in all provinces. I thank the University of the Free State for helping to identify schools in the Free State and joyfully distributing these books,” said Jaffer.

On the contrary, school officials are ecstatic, saying that the books will motivate their learners to promote education, learn about their past, and improve their vocabulary. “A school cannot survive in isolation; through the academics’ teaching and learning, as well as research in their respective fields, we learn a lot. Thus, the university's cooperation is welcomed. Through these books, learners will be inspired to reinvent, repurpose, and rediscover libraries," said Sindiswa Mcosana, Curriculum Primary Schools Chief Education Specialist at the Free State Department of Education.

News Archive

Academic receives honorary medal in Slovakia
2008-10-09

 

Prof Riaan Luyt (right) receives his medal from the Director of the Polymer Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dr Jozef Rychly.

  

Prof Riaan Luyt, professor in Chemistry and head of the Natural Sciences Programme at the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State, received an honorary medal from the Polymer Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences on Monday 29 September during a conference in the High Tatras mountains of Slovakia.

During the event Prof Luyt also presented a lecture entitled ‘Paraffin wax in polymer blends and composites: Is it worth investigating?’. In this lecture he gave an overview of the research that he and his group did over a period of 10 years in collaboration with scientists at this institute. The results of this research was published in eighteen international papers and one research book chapter.

Prof Luyt’s research at the Qwaqwa Campus involves polymer blends and composites, and he has already published 82 papers in international, peer reviewed journals, as well as two book chapters. At present his research group consists of nine doctoral and five master’s degree students, as well as a postdoctoral fellow. The postdoctoral fellow is from Nigeria, and one of the doctoral students is from Sudan.

Prof Luyt and his group collaborate formally internationally with groups in Kottayam (India), Modena (Italy), Budapest (Hungary) and Bratislava (Slovakia). He also collaborates informally with groups at the Universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch, and with a group in Johor Bahru (Malaysia).

He previously received recognition for his research from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (Award for Outstanding Research in 2005) and from the Qwaqwa Campus of the UFS (Jubilee Medal and Certificate for Outstanding Research in 2007).
 

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