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Encouraging a reading culture among high school learners in the Free State

07 November 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Supplied

Photo 1 Book donation copy — 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

SRC elections: A first for UFS main campus

2005-08-14

Students on the main campus of the of the University of the Free State (UFS) will this week for the first time vote for the Student Representative Council (SRC) using two voting systems: proportional representation (PR) and first-past-the-post.

According to the Vice-Rector, Student Affairs, Dr Ezekiel Moraka, this year’s elections are a milestone for the UFS as it will be the first time that the main campus SRC will be elected according to the amended SRC constitution, which was approved by the UFS Council in June 2005.

“It is also a major breakthrough for student governance and transformation of the UFS main campus and constitutes a legitimate basis for the democratic participation of all students at the UFS main campus in the governance of the university,” said Dr Moraka.

The amended constitution of the main campus SRC determines that nine of the 18 SRC members must be elected by means of proportional representation and nine on the basis of an individual, first-past-the-post election.

According to Dr Moraka, the introduction of the proportional representation system follows earlier calls by some student formations, notably Sasco and the ANC Youth League, for such a system to be introduced at the UFS main campus in Bloemfontein.

The new main campus SRC constitution is the result of consensus reached during a lengthy negotiation process involving diverse student formations such as Sasco, the ANC Youth League, the Young Communist League, the ACDP, HEREXVII, KovsieAlliance, as well as the democratically elected SRC members of the main campus.

“Independent persons such as Mr Jack Klaas and Mr Kobus van Loggerenberg, a former SRC President, facilitated the negotiation process,” said Dr Moraka.

Students on the main campus in Bloemfontein will vote for a new SRC on Monday 15 August 2005.

SRC elections will also take place on the other two campuses of the UFS, which have their own SRC structures.

Students on the UFS-Vista campus in Bloemfontein will vote for a new SRC on Monday 15 August 2005 and Tuesday 16 August 2005.

At the Qwaqwa campus of the UFS, students will vote for a new SRC on Friday 26 August 2005.

The election processes on all three campuses will be closely monitored by independent electoral bodies.

After the three campuses have elected their respective SRCs a central SRC will be constituted. The central SRC will have 12 members made up of delegates of the three campus SRCs, including the presidents of these three SRCs. The main campus will have five representatives, the Qwaqwa campus will have four representatives and the Vista campus will have three representatives.

Main campus voting schedule:
Monday 15 August 2005 from 07:00-21:00. Ten voting stations will be set up across the campus. The results will be announced on Tuesday 16 August 2005.

Vista campus voting schedule:
Monday 15 August 2005 and Tuesday 16 August 2005 from 09:00-18:00 in the administration building. The results will be announced on Wednesday 17 August 2005.

Qwaqwa campus voting schedule:
Friday 26 August 2005 from 09:00-18:00 in the Senate Hall. If there is no objection to the final results, it will be announced on the same day.

Media release

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

14 August 2005

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