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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

UFS to get transformation plan for African context

2005-02-04

The University of the Free State is to draft a comprehensive Transformation Plan to give impetus to the process of making the UFS an inclusive, non-racial, non-sexist, multi-cultural and multi-lingual university within the African context.

Delivering a keynote speech at the Official Opening of the UFS today, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, said the Transformation Plan would include aspects such as employment equity, institutional culture, academic excellence, and other elements.

He added that another aspect to be considered in the academic element of the Transformation Plan was the issue of the African context, of a university for Africa, in Africa, of the African university.

According to Prof Fourie, the best way of understanding the role of the UFS in Africa and for Africa, is for the university to become a truly engaged university that bridges the gap between the institution and the community. He said the UFS had for more than 10 years been at the forefront of transformation in higher education, and had gone through several phases of transformation. However the UFS needed to embark on a new phase of transformation which would be guided by a comprehensive Transformation Plan.

The Transformation Plan would be the result of an inclusive consultation process involving staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders. It would also be based on a review of current policies and practices.
The process would be led by a Transformation Plan Team, co-ordinated by the Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, Prof Teuns Verschoor, and the Vice-Rector: Student Affairs, Dr Ezekiel Moraka.

“Obviously we should also not underestimate the complexities of transformation and of building a new society, given our complex history and the legacies of poverty, underdevelopment, colonialism and apartheid.

“We must consider support for staff involved in these transformation steps, including appropriate staff development, capacity to support transformation processes, as well as flexible and supportive administrative practices,” Prof Fourie said.

He said the UFS management understood the urgency of transformation in the current democratic South Africa and the changing global environment and appealed to staff and students to participate fully in drafting the Transformation Plan for the UFS.

“Transformation at the UFS has been and will continue to be a process with many facets that seek to enhance excellence in all spheres of university life, and is much more than merely ensuring employment equity,” he said.

Prof Fourie said: “We have reached a historic moment in the life of the UFS where innovative thinking and bold steps yet again are necessary because failure is not an option.”

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 February 2005

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